


The Other Side of Paradise

by Ceryn01



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aromantic Asexual Pidge | Katie Holt, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Shiro (Voltron), Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Dark Lance (Voltron), Everyone Has Issues, Galra Lance (Voltron), Galra is a Gang, Gay Keith (Voltron), Is this enough tags?!, Lance is hella rich, M/M, Matt comes in later, Minor Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Pansexual Hunk (Voltron), Psychic Abilities, The lions are guardians, This is probably gonna be a long story, a lot of song references, psychic lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-21 18:16:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 128,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13746573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceryn01/pseuds/Ceryn01
Summary: The Galra is a notorious gang who has suddenly gained a new unexpected leader named Blue. His job is to train new recruits and maintain the Galra name. That's Lance's job, it's what keeps him alive, but he has the ability to see ghosts... so he would prefer not to kill. He's being haunted by Lotor and sometimes he can't tell what's real or not or who's dead or alive. Keith on the other hand is on a mission in the Blade of Marmora. His job is to see why the Galra has suddenly grown and why Blue seems to know so much about strangers.





	1. Glass Animals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title comes from a song by Glass Animals, hence the chapter title and it’s amazing and my theme for this story so check it out! Most chapters will have a song title just because there are a lot of songs that helped me with this. This chapter jumps a lot between POV's just a warning. Anyway thanks for reading!

Keith didn't really mind the new mission. Actually, he was quite eager and honored that he had been chosen for such a risky mission as this. He was assigned to infiltrate the gang that called themselves the Galra. It was obviously because he was the youngest one here and could easily pass off as a new recruit. The blade of Marmora, like many other organizations, were focused on bringing down the gang. 

Keith sat there in his dark room which was only illuminated by a small lamp that sat on his bedside. Shiro knew a lot about the gang and its members from his job as an officer and although Keith found his work an honorable effort just as others he couldn't help but feel he should be doing something against the Galra as well. Everything about his decision to join the Blade of Marmora was extremely risky but Shiro had been supportive enough which Keith truly appreciated. From what Keith could gather from both his personal knowledge and the file given to him by Thace who was already a spy there, the Galra had grown obnoxiously fast in the past few years. They had always been around ever since Keith was a child but now was their time where they shined incredibly bright. All because of one of Zarkon’s right hands that seemed to appear out of nowhere. He seemed to break police, citizens, and gang members alike with his sheer knowledge and manipulation. People only had theories over how he, who they called Blue, gained information so fast. 

Keith was going to infiltrate a base that was located on the far side of town. It was a hotbed for illegal activity and one of the worst there but they needed somebody that looked fairly young and since Keith was someone who matched that criteria they assigned him that job. He was relieved slightly that Thace was there too but he still felt a bit flustered. He had to miss a day of school just to be there so he was at least happy that he didn't have to deal with that as well. He sighed a bit anxiously and turned off the lamp trying to get comfortable in his bed.

* * *

Lance woke up to the practically screeching of his alarm clock and he pressed snooze before turning around and getting a bit more comfortable. "Dude, wake up it's already seven-thirty and your alarm went off like three times," Hunk said as he made his way in Lance's room. 

Lance was still for a bit before shooting up and grabbing the clock as if he could change the numbers with his eyes. "Oh god, I'm late!" He shot up and began rummaging through his clothes and throwing them behind himself. 

"Late? Buddy, your first class doesn't start for hours,"

"Not late for class," Lance pulled on some random clothes from his closet not fully registering what he just let slip. 

"Then late for what?" Hunk immediately asked and Lance just smiled. 

"I promised Allura I would meet her at the coffee shop to help her set up," It wasn't a complete lie but Lance needed to change the subject before he truly did let everything slip. "Anyway, why are you still in my house? Like don't get me wrong I love having you here and yesterday was a blast just playing video games but I thought your classes started soon?"

"They do," Hunk sighed. "Pidge and I need to work on a project and she's already been texting me hundreds of threats," He laughed. "I just needed to make sure you were up before I left. I made you breakfast by the way just so you won't be running on coffee alone,"

"Aw buddy," Lance said with his toothbrush still in his mouth as his hands were fixing his currently messy hair. "You spoil me. Did you make sure to get your lion?"

"Lance," Hunk laughed as he picked up the pendant of a yellow lion. "I got it. You gave it to me, after all, why wouldn't I wear it?"

"Good, make sure Pidge is wearing her’s too," Lance yelled. "It'll give you good luck and keep you safe!" 

"I still think Pidge is a bit shocked that you gave her the green one," Hunk laughed, "Don't worry though buddy. You have yours?"

"Of course," Lance smirked as he showcased his blue lion pendant. "I never take it off," They were interrupted by more text alerts and Hunk hissed a bit. 

"Yeah, I should be heading out now before Pidge completely loses her patience and burns down the library," 

"Wouldn't that be a sight," Lance laughed. "Alright, buddy. Oh, and one last thing, I'm gonna have to cancel movie night tonight,"

"What?!" Hunk looked over at him a bit sadly. "Why? I thought you wanted to watch that weird movie about aliens,"

"I do, it's not about the movie, I just have to wake up early tomorrow and I can't stay up too late. You and Pidge are still one hundred percent allowed to come over though," Lance slid on his jacket and moved to the kitchen. "You can borrow my living room and everything just don't expect me to stay awake," He began to quickly chow down on the food that was still warm and moaned a bit at how good it was. 

"Well, alright I'll tell Pidge," Hunk sighed sadly. "I'm heading out! Bye, and make sure you actually eat something later today and not just run on energy drinks,"

"Energy drinks are the drugs of the gods!" Lance laughed. "But alright I will. See you, Hunk! Make sure not to die!"

"I'll try my best," Hunk laughed as he shut the door and proceeded to leave. Lance sighed as he finished up the food and put the plate in the sink. 

"Shouldn't you be in a bit more of a hurry?" 

Lance sighed a bit angrily again. "And you should be dead but here you are talking to me," Lance turned around and saw Lotor standing right in front of him. 

"Not my fault you're the only person who can actually entertain me," Lotor smirked and floated a bit above the ground. 

"I'm not here for your entertainment," Lance crossed his arms. "The only reason I have this gift-"

"Yes, yes, because your job is to help those who have died after your dear grandma taught you. I've heard you mention it before,"

"If you know that then why are you not telling me what's keeping you here?" Lance huffed. He grabbed his backpack and swung it over his shoulder. "Until that job is done, you can't cross over,"

"Why would I want to do that?" Lotor laid in the air. "Over there is unpredictable. I don't know what's over there or where I'll end up, but here," He laughed. "It’s so much more fun,"

"I wouldn't see the fun in it honestly," Lance began to walk out and locked the door behind him as he closed it. 

Lotor followed after him. "Ah yes, because I'm an evil apathetic gang leader’s son," 

"No, because you can't interfere," Lance kept walking and stuck his hands in his jacket. He was at least grateful that he wasn't as cold as he usually is. "I know you Lotor. And although I would never do anything as bad as you have, I understand how you react to things,"

"Oh, because I'm just an open box, aren't I?" He snared. Lance was getting funny looks as he walked so he only whispered back a response. 

"Please," he scoffed, "Even now I can't quite read your mind," Lance slid on the green headphones that Pidge had accidentally left at his house and just watched as Lotor circled around him in an attempt to get his attention before just crossing his arms and walking next to him. 

He made it to the coffee shop and saw as Allura was already beginning to set up and she smirked at him a bit, "So you did decide to come after all,"

"I promised I would," Lance smiled as he slid off the headphones around his neck. "Looking beautiful as always," Lance smirked and Allura just rolled her eyes

"Oh so you'll talk to her but not me," Lotor moved over towards him and sat down at a table which just made Lance roll his own eyes and set his backpack on the floor. 

"Sorry to put this on you on such short notice," Allura sighed. "Coran had business to attend to with Voltron," 

"Aw yes your own personal coalition," Lance laughed. "Has he managed to persuade any other rebellions to fight against the Galra?"

Lotor let out a laugh. "Yeah, good luck with that,"

"Actually that's what he's doing right now," Allura picked up Lance's pendant, "How's old Blue doing?" 

"Great she's always there for me, unlike someone," He said a bit more forcefully as he glared at Lotor. He only smirked back at him. 

"Insomnia or is it Lotor that's getting the best of you?" Allura looked up at him a bit empathetically. 

"Both. Lotor still won't tell me what's keeping him here and I still can't sleep without headphones," Lance sighed. "It's really cutting into my beauty sleep. Not that I need it of course,"

"Well I'm sure you'll figure it out," She chuckled as she moved the pendant and dropped it behind Lance's shirt. "Make sure to keep that hidden. I know you've already found great paladins for the yellow and green one but we have to make sure to find the black and red ones soon,”

He began to move over to the table and set up chairs in front of the ones that weren't already set up. "Allura, I know you only asked me because I can see them but they're different from ghosts,"

"Yeah, I remember you telling me they're guardians," Allura sighed and moved behind the counter as Lance continued to set up and clean the tables.

"Okay so then you also remember me telling you that neither of us can decide who they choose to protect right," Lance looked over at her. "I know your dad wanted you to give them paladins and that they would help you but I can't just call them out, not only would they not be guardians, they wouldn't even show up to me. If they have already chosen paladins then it’s our job to find them not just their lions,"

"Yes, I know Lance," Allura moved over in front of him and handed him a coffee which he eagerly took. "It just doesn't feel right to hand over the responsibility that he gave me to you. No offense but I just feel like he would want me to find them suitable Paladins,"

"He would," Lance confirmed and blew at the top of his coffee. "I'm the one who translated the message from ghost to human, but he passed over knowing that I could see the guardians and knowing that you were passing up the job. He didn't pass on just because he had too, his job was finished here, so don't beat yourself up about it," 

"I know I shouldn't," Allura sighed as she took a sip from her cup. "But I feel guilty not being able to help guide a lion," She confessed. 

"Yeah but you're our ringleader," Lance chuckled. "Once the lions speak to me I'll pass them over I promise,"

"Thank you, Lance," She moved her hair out of her face and Lance noticed her makeup smudged a bit.

"Allura your marks are showing," Lotor looked over at them. "You better cover those before they realize you're an Altean,"

"Was an Altean," Allura corrected looking sadly at the ground. 

"Just because you and Coran are the only ones left doesn't make you less Altean," Lance smiled. "They helped a lot against the Galra. Just because they got disbanded and most left after... the incident, doesn't mean you have to give up the title,"

"The pink is a hideous color wouldn't you say?" Lotor bent in and was now looking at the one small marking directly under Allura's eye that was visible. Lance shooed him away. "When they figured out they were gonna get tattoos did all the little girls in that place get pink ones?" He mocked. 

"Shut up Lotor," Lance warned and crossed his arms. "It was tradition,"

"Some tradition,"

"They could choose not to get them," Allura piped in picking up small pieces of the conversation. "If they didn't want to get them they didn't have to,"

"Oh, so she just decided to get such a hideous color and plain markings?" Lotor smirked. "Got it," 

"What's he saying?" Allura looked over at where Lance was currently glaring at but saw nothing. 

"Nothing important,"

"I take offense to that," Lotor smirked at him and floated a bit away. "Lance~ you might want to stop the chitchat,"

"And why's that," Lance said as he took a long sip of his coffee. 

"Because it's eight and it takes ten minutes to walk to the base," Lance spat out his drink and looked up at the clock. 

"God what is with me and time today!?" He shouted and practically chugged his coffee that thankfully wasn't that hot. "Allura, sorry I couldn't help more I'll come back to help you put things away though I promise,"

"It's fine," She laughed. "Just head out if you need too, and Lance," Her voice took a softer tune. "Be safe okay?"

"I always am," He reassured as he placed the headphones over his ears again and grabbed his bag still on the floor. "I'll see you later. Be safe!"

"I always am," She mimicked him and Lance only chuckled softly under his breath as he ran out. 

He turned on his music to not only drown out Lotor but a few other ghosts that were currently in the streets as well. He was running at this point, only stopping to apologize to people if he managed to bump into them. He made it to an old abandoned warehouse that used to be one of Zarkons most prominent hideout. He slid off the headphones and placed them in his bag. He quickly changed his clothes into Galran armor that was in his backpack as well. It bore a great resemblance to the uniforms of Zarkons personal generals, being black with purple symbols. He had it in two pieces however; a shirt and pants. Unlike most who bore it as a one suit Lance had cut his for a shirt and pants simply because it was more easily flexible to him. He put on some yellow contacts and slicked back his brown hair so that no one would recognize him. He then placed a dark blue mask on that only covered his cheeks and nose up. It was shaped like a cat and Lance took a moment to run his fingers down its side before tightly tying the ribbon on the back of his head. He hated how much he had to cover up but he didn't want his actual stable life to deteriorate like how Zarkons had, so for extra precautions, he tied a black silk cloth around his neck. He slid it over his mouth and tucked it under his mask so that no part of his face showed. 

"Looking rather covered up, don't you Lance?" Lotor sighed. "Aren't you hot in there?"

"Well better than being on the most wanted list," He sighed as he stuffed his old clothes into his pack. "Can you tell that it's me?" He held out his hands to present himself and Lotor walked around him. 

"You're fine," He confirmed. "Now hurry before my father throws a fit," Lance left his bag there, hiding it behind some old boxes stacked up on each other. 

He ran towards the back and slid out the door careful not to make any noise. Lotor warned him if any other people were coming towards him so that he could dodge them easily. He finally made it to Zarkons main hideout and peaked through the window. No one in sight, which only lead him to believe Zarkon was already making his way to the training deck where he was supposed to be. "Up this way," Lotor directed as he pointed to the stairs and Lance quickly climbed up towards the roof. "This'll probably get you there faster,"

"Probably?" Lance hopped between the roofs which were rather close together. 

"Yes, as in, not certain but it will cut your time to get there," Lotor explained. "Maybe you'll even beat Zarkon there,"

"Doubt it," Lance finally made it close to the building and slid down the roof to make it in front of another Galra member. 

"Oh what? You a new recruit?"

"Well, technically I'm-"

"Yeah I don't care about all that, you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago," He stated as he grabbed the side of his arm and dragged him inside. "Now, Zarkon will be here shortly so just stand in line and look pretty," He mocked as he squished him in between two other recruits. 

"Joke's on you I look pretty even without trying," Lance looked between the two that he was pushed against. They didn't seem to be very phased by him but so many people here surrounded by their own tragedy, of course, brought along ghosts and they were swarming the place. Lance groaned a bit and brought his hand up to clutch his temple in irritation. 

"What's wrong?" Lance looked over at the person standing next to him, dressed almost exactly the same except for a deep red mask. He could see slightly long hair pulled back and tied rather crazily into a ponytail. His deep voice and uniform clearly informing Lance that this was a guy.

"Too many voices speaking at once," He whispered back. These people, almost all of them had at least one ghost attached to them. Mothers either encouraging them to continue the legacy of the Galra or screaming at them to get out of there. A couple of friends talking nonsense and there was even a child trying to tug on the clothes of someone. There words mashing together and swarming around him. Voices that were distorted, desperate, angry, and alone. It made him groan a bit more, and he clutched his hand up over his ears. The stranger beside him was grabbing his wrists trying to pry them away. 

"You're gonna get in trouble," Another one said. "Just let Zarkon deal with him once he comes," Lance looked over at the person on his other side who was clearly a girl by her voice. 

"We can't just leave him like this," The other said again and helped Lance stand a bit straighter. 

"It's fine," Lance whispered. "Do you maybe have headphones or earplugs?" 

"Why would I bring that?" He answered in return. 

"You know what. It's fine," Lance pulled away a bit and slouched in irritation when the ghosts didn't quite down. "Lotor..." 

"What are you asking me to do?" Lotor rolled his eyes. "Should I possess your body to get you out of here or something?"

"After last time?" Lance scoffed under his breath "Yeah right,"

"Wait he can hear us!" A ghost floated close to Lance's face and made him jump back in surprise. "Please, you have to tell my son-"

"Will you all shut up!" Lotor screamed and made Lance flinch a bit harder. A ghost voice was much sharper in Lance's opinion. Other supposed psychics he had met didn't seem to be phased by the distorted sharpness of frantic ghosts. He just covered his ears a bit harder. 

"Leave him," the girl said when he noticed the one with the red mask reaching out his hand to help. "If he's not capable of being here without turning into a blubbering mess then he shouldn't be dragging us down with him,"

Lance heard Lotor growl under his breath. He looked over at him to see him fighting with another ghost that was attached to a man. A white mask over his face and now clearly staring at him. "All I want him to do is tell my son, to get out of here,"

"He doesn't interfere with other people's stupid decisions," Lotor answered for him. 

"Please, you have to tell him to get out of here!" She screamed at Lance. 

"Get out!" Lance screamed at the person which made everyone else look at him and for the white masked person to step back a bit. 

"That's not what I wanted!" 

"Look he delivered your message now scram," Lotor said a bit harshly. 

"Can you please give him a happy birthday?" Another ghost stumbled forward. "No one's said it to him all day,"

Lance looked over at the ghost girl's voice and chuckled a bit. "And who are you?"

"I don't have to tell you anything psycho," This guy who had dyed purple hair that hung over his face and just had a plain medical mask over him answered.

"My names Mia and he's Ryan. I'm his sister!" The small ghost smiled. 

"Alright then. Ryan," The boy, Ryan, looked over in shock. "Your sister, Mia, wished you a happy birthday," There was a small silence before Ryan pounced on him and pushed him down to the ground holding a knife to his neck. 

"How do you know about her?!" He pushed it a bit harder and Lance was about to push him off when the man in the red mask finally pushed him off.

* * *

Keith had no idea what to do. One minute this kid was freaking out on the floor, next he was getting attacked for telling someone happy birthday. He didn't mean to react but seeing the knife pushing up against the blue masked boy made him react. Grabbing onto his wrist and pushing him back grabbing his own knife and holding it in front of him. "Stop!" He growled as the man regained his posture. "What do we get out of fighting each other?!"

"You should teach your little buddy to watch his mouth," 

"I literally just said happy birthday," The blue masked man rubbed his neck. "The appropriate reaction would be to say 'thank you', you know?"

"You- How did you know about Mia?!" He inched closer and Keith stepped in front of him.

"Enough," They heard a clap and all eyes were turned to the front where Zarkon stood. Everyone knew his face already, his slicked back hair, beady eyes, and a scar that ran down his eye over his lip. "First day here and already causing fights?"

"Zarkon," They all bowed on one knee and put a fist over their heart, "Vrepit Sa," He seemed distracted, however. Looking around as if trying to find someone. 

"And where is Blue?" Zarkon questioned with a slight growl in his voice.

"I'm right here sir," The blue masked boy stepped forward. Keith was taken aback. How did Zarkon know this guy? Blue, that name. He couldn’t possibly be him. No, he was too young. There was no way. 

"Ah there you are," Zarkon smiled and wrapped an arm around him which made him tense up a bit. "And here I thought you were late again,"

"Of course not," He replied softly and looked at the ground. "I am in charge of them after all. Can't set a bad example," Keith stiffened. 

"In charge of us?" Ryan stood up quickly. 

"Do you have a problem with my orders?" Zarkon stepped forward which caused him to fall to his knees again. 

"All due respect, I feel he is incapable of leading us," He sighed. "He's the one who caused the fights after all, wouldn't it be more appropriate for someone else to-"

A gun was pulled out and placed on his forehead. Keith flinched at his inability to do anything. "I'll ask again, 'do you have a problem with my orders?'," Zarkon’s finger laid on top of the trigger as he watched the man shrink into himself. 

"N-no of course not," Zarkon looked over at Blue who was staring at them and Keith wished he could see his expression. Instead, Blue only nodded once and as soon as he did a gunshot rang out making everyone flinch. Ryan now on the floor with blood pooling from his head.

* * *

Why had Lance nodded? It was because of that temper Ryan had. The little girl was gone as well if she wasn't Lance wouldn't have been able to do anything. Zarkon didn't seem to care but Lance sighed at the now quieted voices from both the ghosts and the people. More Galra members made their way inside and dragged the body away. Zarkon moved next to Lance and held out his palm. Lance looked down to find earplugs and he smiled. "Thank you," He hated saying that to him but he had no choice unless he wanted to end up a bloody pulp on the ground. He placed only one in his ear careful not to disturb his mask. 

"And where is my son?" Zarkon looked around warily. 

"Currently," Lance looked around as if Lotor wasn't following him needlessly anyways. "Standing next to the red-masked boy," 

Zarkon was a psychic as well in a sense. Not the same power as Lance, instead, more of a teller in the future. That's what helped him stay out of the cop’s eyes. He took in Lance for the very purpose of his ability to see ghosts. If it wasn't for that, Lance wouldn't be in this situation. "Well I'll let you take full control over them," He said loudly to address the others as well. "If I see any complaining or if Blue reports to me about anything-"

"Don't worry sir," Lance stepped up and immediately fell to one knee. "I will track out the spies before you leave,"

"Of course," Zarkon stepped back with a smirk and waved his hand at the others. 

Lance stood up and looked at everyone here. As soon as he was up the others straightened up. "Line up in a single line," Lance instructed and the others followed without a moment of thought. He walked over with a sigh. Should he let Lotor do this part? He didn't mind letting Lotor use his body if it meant he didn't have to do this. Plus, Lotor was much better at reading people. "Lotor, you have my permission," He whispered and Lotor smirked at him. 

His body began walking directly in front of the first person. Lance examining his body to make sure Lotor didn't do anything drastic. He took one quick look at the person in front of him, "You go stand over there," He pointed to the right. 

"What but I'm not a spy!" The man grumbled. Lotor sighed and pulled out a gun from Lance's side. He placed it on the other's temple 

"I don't recall asking for your input," Lotor sneered. The man quickly moved away to where he was pointing. 

"Dude, don't make me look bad," Lance crossed his arms and watched as Lotor controlled his body. "I don't want them to hate me so soon,"

Lotor chuckled a bit and moved in front of the next person. He motioned for them to step to the back and they obliged. Next one the opposite side of the first and continuing down the line. Some to the right, some to the left and few in the back. Lotor flew out of his body and Lance quickly got back in control. He looked at the three groups. Lotor moved to the one on the right. "These are the ones who are loyal to the Galra," then he moved to the back. This was the smallest group, only three people. Lance looked over at Red who was standing a bit unnerved by the looks of it. "The spies," Yup, now Lance knew why he was nice to him and why he seemed tense. Then Lotor looked over at the last ones. Only a few were here as well. "And these are a cram of people who were a bit harder to read or just didn't really seem to care if they were here," Lance looked between the three. He couldn't really just evenly do this so he moved to the people in the right and picked out the one that looked the youngest. 

"Move to the back," They did as they were told and moved. Lance moved along with them. There were three spies and now that he had added someone else there were four. Then he looked over at Red who seemed to be staring at him. He pulled him out of the group and moved him to the center of the room. "Stay there," He didn't get a response so he moved on to the people in the left, the ones that couldn’t be read. He picked out one that looked the youngest and told them to move to the back. He stepped back and looked at the three groups. He stood next to Red and nodded confidently. Pointing at the ones on the far right. "Kill them," Then to the far left, "Send them to the bottom," And outstretching his hands to the middle group. "And you all get to stay with me,"

Obviously, protests broke out. He was being screamed at, threatened, and being called names. "Do as he said," Zarkon instructed the others. Small fights broke out that didn't seem to be taken lightly and a few were killed on sight which made not only Lance flinch but a few of the others as well. “Five? That’s a new record for the number of people you’ll train. Here I thought I had chosen worthy Galra,” Lance smirked behind his mask because he had. A large majority were loyal to him which was painful considering he had to get rid of them. “What about this one?” They both looked over at Red who was staring at them and he straightened up placing a fist over his chest. 

“He’s my favorite,” Lance laughed a bit and looked back at the others. “He was the only one who was nice to me,” The five before him could practically hear the pout. “So he’s my right hand for this next experiment!” 

“Well I must be off,” Zarkon placed a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Business to attend to. I trust you are able to keep the five you chose at bay?”

“Of course,” Lance placed a fist over his chest and tilted his head down. “Vrepit Sa,” Zarkon began walking off giving the Galra around him a quick order about something Lance didn’t hear. He looked back at the five and directed Keith to move closer to the others. “Welp now that we’re all alone I have one final test,” He moved back and began searching for something before waving a hand so another Galra ran forward and he quickly whispered something in his ear. Lance passed him something that he was holding and he quickly ran off. He took a step forward and motioned for them to stand in a line. He pulled up his shirt to reveal the left side of his stomach where a large and harsh looking scar resonated. “This is the Galra symbol,” He said running his fingers up against it. “In order for you to be treated like one of mine you will have to gain one,” The Galra that he had sent away before ran back and handed back a glowing piece of red iron. Lance took it in one hand carefully. “And just like they used on me we’ll be using a branding iron,” He pointed it at them and could feel them tense up. 

“No way in hell am I doing that!” Lance looked over at the one who spoke up. It was the one that was supposed to be loyal to the Galra, or perhaps only to Zarkon. 

“Excuse me?” Lance tilted his head a bit to the side. 

“Oh would you look at that,” Lotor stood next to him. 

“With all due respect I’ll get a tattoo or something but a branding iron?!” He argued “We’re not cattle,”

“Some would argue that it’s even too cruel for cattle,” Lotor laughed. 

“Alright,” Lance lowered the branding iron. “Do any of you guys feel the same?”

“I would prefer not to get it that way but if it’s what you wish then I will stand by it,” That was a spy. A young man with white hair and a beanie over it. His mask was a light purple. Lance chuckled a bit at how a spy was so confident in following his directions but the one that was supposed to be loyal to him wasn’t. 

“As will I,” The other spy said. A girl with bright blond hair pulled into two ponytails and a dull yellow mask over her face. 

“This is something you require?” This one was strange, Lance noticed. He was one that Lotor couldn’t read. He was wearing a silver mask, that looked almost like a helmet, with a single orange circle over between where his eyes were supposed to be. A vertical line over his mouth and two darker marks on each side of the circle where his eyes where most likely at. 

“Well if you refuse to get it you can stand next to that one,” Lance motioned towards the Galra. This person seemed a bit hesitant but moved towards the other two as a signal that he would get it. 

“Well Red?” Lance looked at the only person still just standing there in the middle. He crossed his arms.

* * *

There was no way Keith wanted to get this. He didn’t want to be branded with the Galra symbol especially in such a painful way but he had come this far. He didn’t want to refuse anything that would probably cause him trouble. He took in a shaking breath and nodded mostly to reassure himself. If this is what he needed to keep the trust that Blue was already giving him then he needed to maintain it. “Yes, I’ll do it,” 

“Well looks like only one, of my trusty five, has refused,” Blue moved over to the four that stood close to each other. “Red since you were so nice I want to show you first what this is,” 

Keith deflated. God, he really didn’t want to do this but he grabbed his shirt and pulled it up. He closed his eyes not that anyone else could tell. He crumbled his fist and flinched when he felt something cold touch his hip. Wait… cold? He opened his eyes and looked up at where Blue was still holding the branding iron to his skin. He pulled it off and Keith examined his skin where nothing was left. “It was a fake?” Keith whispered which caused Blue to laugh. 

“Of course it was!” He grabbed the glowing part of the iron and laughed a bit harder as everyone was now staring at him. “It’s just a stupid light! I had it specifically made for this exercise!” He laughed even harder and finally he calmed himself down and placed a hand on his hip. “If you truly are going to get one you have to earn it by proving your own worth to the Galra. This has many advantages and makes it easier to decipher who’s in charge here. I am one of Zarkons right hands and as such I have earned my way to achieve this mark. Any Galra who sees it will know I’m in power. You will not simply get one by being under my watch. You four are on the right path, however, you-,” He pointed at the one who refused it. “Are no longer welcomed here,”

“Wait,” The other argued, “If I had known-“

“You should have known it was an honor within the Galra to receive this mark. Only a lucky few get the privileges it has. You are a coward afraid of pain. Someone I do not wish to train or be under my watch. Take him away to the bottom please!” His singsong voice commanded which caused a few other Galra to run forward and began dragging him away. Keith watched as Blue playfully waved goodbye as protests from the other man echoed in the warehouse. “You are the last of my recruits. Today has been eventful with eliminating candidates but don’t think you’re safe. I can easily escort you out just as I did with him. I hope you learn a lot from me!” He chuckled a bit as he dropped the fake branding iron. “Red, sorry for scaring you,”

“No, no you didn’t,” Keith stuttered at suddenly being addressed. He cleared his throat. “It’s fine,” Through all that had he really survived to be one of the last four standing here? It was almost unbelievable. 

“Well you can all go now,” Blue was already turning on his feet and confidently walking off. “I have places to be and I assume you do to. We’ll meet tomorrow, late in the day,” He made it to the door and turned around as he waved. “This is going to be fun!” And Keith watched as he left the four of them there all alone. He was dangerous, that was clear to see. Dangerous beyond what could be told in a simple file.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra points if you can guess who the other three spies are. You would think that I was done making long ass stories but here I am again! End game obviously Klance but hey what can I say, I love them. Anyways yeah I’ll try to explain more as I continue to write this. Thank you!


	2. Turn The Lights Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme song for this chapter: Turn The Lights Off by Tally Hall.  
> Hope you like it!

“That was exhausting!” Lance groaned as he watched his breath dance in front of him. 

“How? You barely did anything,” Lotor was turned around as Lance changed back into his normal clothes. 

“Emotionally Lotor. It was emotionally exhausting,” Lance smirked. “Would you know anything about that?”

“Ha, that’s hilarious. Never heard that one before,” Lotor replied drily. “Still, you only chose four and of those four not a single one was certain in being loyal to the Galra. You even chose the spies,”

“Lotor…” Lance sighed as he finished up. “You know more than anyone why I did that,” He grabbed the green headphones out of his pack before swinging the backpack on his shoulders. “Besides, I didn’t want them killed,” 

“May I remind you that you were the one that called them to be killed,” Lotor voiced as he moved next to him. 

“Well they were doing nothing with their lives,” Lance sighed. “They probably would have hurt so much more people. Innocent people at that,”

“So?” He scoffed. “You can’t tell the living apart from the dead; why would you care?” 

“Because I’m not the only one who’s affected by the dead. Not like you cared about them while your heart was still beating,” Lance pulled the headphones over his ears and placed his phone in his pocket. “They should decide what to do with their lives. It’s theirs, after all, you already had yours,” 

Lotor looked irritated and by the looks of it he was arguing with him but his music had already begun playing loud enough to block out any noise that any living or dead person would make. He began walking off careful not to be noticed by anyone, he turned corners, cut through allies, and avoided any cars until he made it to one of the main roads. He sighed a bit in relief and began walking more slowly back in the direction of his house. His song changed and for only a few seconds he looked down at his phone ready to fix the problem until he bumped into someone. He stumbled back a bit at the two hands that suddenly shoved him back. 

“Watch where you’re going!” Lance pulled down his headphones and looked up at the voice. 

“I’m sorry, can you repeat that?” he asked politely. 

“See if you had those headphones off I could have warned you to stop walking but now you can deal with this on your own,” Lotor sulked by side. 

“I wasn’t asking for your help to begin with,” Lance mumbled and looked back at the person in front of him. Haxus. God, why did it have to be him? He wasn’t very close with Zarkon; not as close as Lance was but still in respectable reach. He didn’t know Lance’s face but he sure as Hell already hated Blue so he didn’t really want to start things with him. “Look, I’m sorry for bumping into you I just wasn’t watching where I was going,” 

He seemed to sneer a bit at that. “Oh just leave the poor boy alone,” they both looked over to see the source of the voice. A girl walked up to them. Her heels clicking against the pavement and her over the top clothes making it seem like she didn’t belong in this part of the city and Lance groaned because he knew she did. All four of them walking towards them did. 

The one who spoke, however, was named Ezor. She was wearing a pink crop top with a pale-yellow skirt. Her slightly pale skin only making her dyed pink hair stick out more wildly especially with the extra colors she had added. Next to her was Narti with her dark skin and light purple hijab wrapped around her head. A white cane in one hand and the other one holding onto a dark pair of glasses. She was dead and Lance didn’t understand why even her ghost seemed to be unsure of her sight. She used to be like him able to hear ghosts but she couldn’t even see the living let alone the dead. Next to the now invisible Narti was Zethrid. She was one that Lance didn’t quite get along with. Her extremely curly hair pulled up into two buns and she only wore a yellow tank top and plain jeans. She had a tattoo on her right hand that Narti sometimes traced along. She used to do that when she lived and even as a ghost she still hovered her hand over it. The last one next to Ezor was Acxa. She was actually pretty nice to Lance. Her hair was tied in a ponytail behind her yet a large strand hung on the left side of her face. She was wearing dark pink jeans, a purple shirt that was tucked in and a leather jacket over it. 

“Well if it isn’t Lotors old gang back together,” Lance snapped out of his little trance of just staring at the four to look back at Haxus. 

“Cute,” Acxa scoffed. “But we’ve always been together. The real question is why you're harassing him,” They pointed at Lance and he shot them a glare. 

“I can take care of myself just fine ladies,” He fake bowed. 

“Oh no wait, Lance, I want to see if my old generals here aren’t going rusty with me gone,” Lotor smirked. Lance noticed the way Narti seemed to back away from the sound of his voice. 

“Nope, I am not dealing with anyone in this area,” Lance turned on his heel and began walking off until a hand was placed on his shoulder. 

“We’re not done here,” Haxus addressed. 

Lance glance at the hand still gripping his shoulder and then looked up at him. “Get your hand off me.” He instructed darkly which caused Lotor to smirk a bit. Lance stared at him with almost scary seriousness. “Get your hand off me right now before I rip it off,” The silence dawned for a bit and Haxus still didn’t remove his hand a bit out of shock at how he was being spoken too. Then it broke. Lance let out a breath, his eyes growing soft and a playful smile crept up on his face. “Please,” That did it. Haxus moved his hand and moved back. 

“Fucking freak,” He stuffed his hands in his pocket and turned around as he walked off. Lance stared for a bit before sighing and continuing to walk away. 

“You still got it,” Ezor smiled as she walked next to him. “The intimidation factor,”

“Why are you guys here?” Lance asked politely. “You guys are enlisted in more high worth missions on the far side of the city,”

“Did you forget already?” Acxa crossed her arms and walked next to him. 

“Forget…what?” 

“Oh great he did,” Zethrid sighed and stuffed her hands in her pockets. “You said you would take us as clients to talk to Narti,” 

“Did I?” Lance looked over at Lotor who just shrugged his shoulders. “That doesn’t sound like me,”

“Yes,” Ezor answered. “Yes, you did,”

“Look I just came back from something and I’m like super tired can’t we just do this later,”

“No, we can’t Lance,” Acxa crossed her arms. “We all cleared out our schedules just so we could talk to her today,” 

“Just do it right now while we’re walking,” Ezor offered. “She’s here, isn’t she?”

Lance looked at Narti and Lotor both hovering over them. “Now’s not a good time,” He mumbled and before they could argue he looked up at the sky. “Lotor’s here,” They all stopped and Lance sighed as he turned to face them. 

“Well, that garnered their attention,” Lotor smirked. 

“Lotor? Why is he here,” Ezor hissed out. “What’s he attached to?”

“That’s what I’m still trying to figure out,” Lance mumbled out. 

“Is he attached to one of us?” Acxa said. 

“Oh please, as if would follow them through their boring everyday lives,” Lotor laughed a bit. 

“Definitely not,” Lance answered. 

“Well then why is he here,” Zethrid yelled. “Tell him to screw off,”

“Ouch pretty harsh,” Lotor laughed. “Wouldn’t you say Narti?” Narti moved behind the girls as a means of escape. 

“Lotor, stop bothering her,” Lance whispered before turning back towards the others. “Listen I can fully understand why you hold a grudge against him. Narti was you’re really close friends and I can’t imagine losing one of my friends. Lotor had no right to…” His voice trailed off growing a bit softer. “He had no right to do that to Narti. I know that, but I can’t just force him to go away. He has to decide that on his own,” 

“Please,” Zethrid scoffed. “Like you know anything about it,” Lance flinched at that because he had lied. He had lied about not being able to imagine it; he didn’t have to. It had already happened.

“Lotor has been dead for years now, you need to let him go,” Acxa stepped forward.

“By the way you three are reacting you’re the ones who haven’t let him go,” Lance sneered. Lotor leaned in with a grin on his face. 

“He is nowhere in our minds,” Zethrid answered “You used to be able to let us talk to Narti more often now we have to make stupid appointments and make sure it’s up to your schedule? It’s bullshit!” 

“And this is the very reason I did this!” Lance screamed back. “You are not grieving in a healthy way. You aren’t even grieving at all because you know she’s that little ghost on your shoulder. This isn’t healthy. You can’t just talk to her whenever you want!”

Ezor placed a hand on her chest and stepped directly in front of Lance. “She’s our friend, we have every right to talk to her!”

“Yeah and by doing that you’re not only harming yourself but her as well!” Lance ran a hand through his hair. “You need to realize that she’s dead and she’s not coming back. As her friends, you should know the main reason she hasn’t crossed over is that she thinks she owes it to you. You’re the reason she’s still here!” 

“So?!” Acxa screamed back

“So it’s not right! You have no idea what it’s doing to all of you. You’re latching onto a ghost! You’re not processing her death the way it should be. You aren’t grieving in a way that will give Narti her closure to pass over. Her spirit is growing weak as time passes. All ghosts are one day forced to pass over and the longer you wait the harder it will be for her to find her light and the harder it will be for you to let her go,” 

The three just stared at him with teary eyes. Lance felt bad screaming at them but it was something that had been bothering him so he just sighed until the sound of clapping made him jump. He looked at Lotor who had a smirk on his face and was currently clapping. “Amazing performance. So beautiful and emotional. For a second there I thought you actually cared,” 

“Shut up Lotor,” Lance rolled his eyes and jumped when he looked back to see Narti standing there. 

“How am I supposed to find my way to cross over if I can’t even see?” 

“There have been thousands of blind ghosts, Narti. I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” The three looked up in hope at their friend’s name.

“I still wish to speak to them,” She spoke up. 

Lance sighed. “Fine, we’ll set up an appointment for later in the day,” He turned back to look at the three. “Come by my house and we’ll talk to her but give me at the very least two hours to myself okay?”

“You got it!” Ezor agreed almost immediately. “Can we bring Kova?”

“Kova?” Lance tilted his head. “Oh right, the cat?”

“Yes, her cat,” Zethrid answered. “Think she likes that idea?” 

“Definitely,” Narti nodded 

“Definitely,” Lance repeated with a nod of his head. “Now if you don’t mind I want to just sleep when I get home so,” He turned on his heel and began walking off; stuffing his hands in his jacket pocket to warm them up. “It’s freezing out here anyway,” The girls didn’t follow him, thankfully, and Lotor moved next to him. 

“Well that was a disaster,” Lance sighed.

“For you maybe,” Lotor smirked walking alongside him. “I wonder how long they’ll hold that grudge,”

“You killed their friend,” Lance sighed. “Intentional or not they’ll probably always hold that against you,” 

“But look at where I’m at now,” Lotor rolled his eyes. “I think we’re even,”

“Arguable,” Lance was close to his house. He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and thought for a bit. He really needed to pick up his hypnotic drugs. He had been prescribed a newer one just last week but he hadn’t picked them up. He still had his other prescription but this one was stronger and he wondered if he should just keep using his until it ran out. 

“Lance move,” Lotor impatiently interrupted his thoughts. 

“Should I get my new prescription?” Lance asked him. “For insomnia I mean,”

“No,” Lotor crossed his arms. “You take too many pills as it is. Just go home. Besides with or without those the ghosts are going to keep you up for a while,” 

“You better not,” Lotor moved around him and Lance followed his movement now facing away from the sidewalk. “Just stay quiet at night,”

“But that’s so boring,” Lotor argued. “Sleeping is a waste of time,” 

Lance let out an exhausted sigh. “I only sleep two hours before I had to wake up, at least let me take a nap,” 

Lotor crossed his arms and let his eyes drift behind Lance. “Move,” 

“What?” Lance turned around just in time to see someone on their bike. 

“Crap!” And Lance had no time to move nor did this guy have any chance to break. They both groaned as they were now laid on the floor. 

“I told you to move,” Lotor smirked from above him. 

“Oh shut up,” Lance groaned as he sat up and groaned. “What the hell, man?”

“God, I honestly didn’t mean to do that,” The boy groaned as well as he moved over to the side and picked up his phone. “I’m not ignoring you, I just crashed into someone,” He talked into the phone. “I don’t know I wasn’t really paying attention. Oh, yeah, um sorry about that,” 

“I can hear the sincerity leaking off your voice,” Lance remarked sarcastically. He took a moment to examine him. Dressed in black jeans and high boots. The cold weather allowed him to wear a red sweater and red scarf. Lance scoffed, was that a mullet? And why wear gloves with no fingers?! He was kind of cute, Lance noted. Too bad he was still pissed at him for practically running him over. 

“Um, I don’t think-” He seemed to flinch at the voice through the phone. “Fine,” He looked back at Lance, “Can you give me directions to the library,”

“Okay first of all,” Lance held up a finger as he stood up straight. “You didn’t even say please. And second of all,” He placed his hands on his hips. “What the heck man?! You didn’t even apologize properly!”

The guy seemed to be a bit taken aback and Lance jumped at a new voice. “Keith, come on, just apologize. It was your fault after all,” He looked over to see a figure standing next to him. He looked older with black and white hair and his right hand was missing. A scar ran over across his face and Lance straightened a bit. He was see-through, although not impossible, it was extremely rare. Usually, ghost where clear, Lance couldn’t even tell the difference between the living and the dead half the time. 

The boy, Keith, cleared his throat. “I’m uh sorry for crashing into you with my bike,” the man facepalmed. 

“You were always horrible at apologizing,” Keith couldn’t possibly have heard him so only Lance chuckled at that comment. 

Lotor was currently sulking behind him and Lance felt a bit uncomfortable watching the see-through man staring at him so he smiled back at Keith. “It’s fine,” He began brushing himself off. “Private or public library?” 

“Oh um, private or public?” He spoke into the phone which caused him to flinch as a yell answered him. “Okay, okay, calm down. Private,”

Lance nodded and took a step forward. Pointing directly in front of him he started to give directions. “Just keep going straight and you’ll see this huge white building with a lion statue in the front, that’s the public one, but once you see that turn left and keep going forward until you see this old building with a mural covered in butterflies on it. Turn right there and keep going until you see this huge building with flowers surrounding it and that’s the private library. It should have a sign in front of it so it’s pretty easy to spot,” 

“Thank you,” Keith sighed. “See he gives much better directions,” He said into the phone. He went over and picked up his bike. Lance watched him but when he looked back at the previous spot the see-through man disappeared. Lance blinked a couple of times before beginning to look around. He couldn’t have possibly just disappeared, could he? “Looking for someone?” Lance looked back at Keith. 

“No I guess not,” He answered warily, adjusting his book bag and looking in the direction of his house. 

“Well I’m probably just keeping you,” The boy said, adjusted his phone between his shoulder and cheek and getting back on his bike. “Thanks for the directions and sorry for running you over,” 

Lance laughed under his breath. “No problem,” He answered, waving his hand as the boy nodded and began riding off. His eyes caught something in the grass and walked over to find a knife on the floor. It was wrapped in bandages and Lance lifted his head to shout at the boy but he was already too far. 

“That was a complete waste of time,” Lotor sighed, hovering next to Lance who was examining the knife. He sighed and stashed it in his bag. 

“I don’t know,” Lance looked up at the sky as he began walking off to his house. “He seemed kind of nice. Plus, that ghost thing wasn’t dead, I should have asked about who he could have been,”

“Whenever you ask somebody you don’t know about a ghost they always react badly,” Lotor remarked. “You should just mind your own business,”

Lance sighed in front of his house. Finally, he really needed some rest. “Maybe I do,” He began walking towards the door when he heard his phone ring. He took it out of his pocket not bothering to check who it was. 

“Lance,” It was Hunk, and Lance smiled as he swung his backpack to his front. “Hey buddy it me, I know you canceled movie night but me and Pidge were just wondering if we could go to your house to do our project since you have more room,”

Lance dug in his backpack until he finally got his keys out. “That’s the first time in like a month you asked me before coming,” He chuckled, unlocking the door and zipping up his backpack. “Yeah of course but I’ll probably be asleep by the time you come so just use the key I gave you okay,”

“Asleep?” Hunk said through the phone. Lance shut the door with his foot once he was inside. “Don’t you usually go to Allura’s?”

“Oh crap, you’re right,” Lance went into his room and tossed his pack to the side. It made a rather large noise and Lance walked over to it. “Can you text her that I’m not going to be over there. I’m way too tired,” He pulled out the knife that the Keith boy had left and, grabbing a blanket as well, made his way into the living room. 

“Yeah no problem,” Lance could practically hear the smile through his phone. “We’ll be over there once we get all our supplies,” 

“Sounds like a plan buddy,” Lance fell back onto his couch with a small groan. 

“Oh and we’re bringing someone you don’t know,” that caught his attention. “Don’t worry, he’s pretty cool. He apparently knows Pidge,”

“Pidge knows people?” Lance scoffed. “Since when?”

“Since she was a kid I guess. Apparently, his brothers and her brother knew each other and they were just kind of pulled along,” Hunk explained. Lance didn’t even know Pidge had a brother. “He missed the day when we were assigned partners and she said he could join us,”

“Are you sure this guy's like… cool?” Lance sighed. “Like is he going to make a fuss about me?”

“I doubt it. I don’t think he even believes in ghosts and stuff,” 

“Well then he’s an idiot,” Lance sighed. “It’s fine to bring him over just try not to wake me I have someone else coming over in like two hours,”

“No problem buddy, Thanks,” Lance smiled as he examined the knife in his hands and began to unravel the bandages.

“Alright bye,” Hunk hung up and Lance let the phone fall from his ear as he examined the now completely unraveled knife. 

“Pretty fancy,” Lotor looked at it. “Why would that kid have it?”

Lance traced his fingers over the symbol on the hilt of the knife. “What is this supposed to mean?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Lotor sighed, sitting down on the floor. 

“It’s pretty sharp. Weird,” Lance dropped it to the floor and pushed it under his couch. “I’m too tired I’ll look into it later,” 

“Already?” Lotor rolled his eyes. “So boring,” 

Lance brought the headphones still around his neck over his ears and quickly turned on light classical music to drown out any noise. He covered his entire body with the blanket and began drifting off.

* * *

“Come on Pidge,” Keith sighed. “I didn’t mean to take so long,”

“Shut up, thanks to you we barely managed to get all of our supplies,” Pidge huffed.

“Cut him some slack,” Hunk smiled. “He’s here now so we can finally start,”

“Where does your friend even live?” Keith asked, looking out the window as the houses seemed to grow further apart from each other. 

“You’ll see,” Pidge leaned on her hand as she stared out her window as well. Hunk driving carefully with both his hands on the wheel. “He lives in a fucking mansion compared to our houses,”

“I live in an apartment,” Keith reminded. “How long are we even going to stay there? I need to go look for something,” 

“Define something?” Hunk smiled. “Maybe we can help you look,” 

“When I crashed into that kid I think it must have fallen out of my pack,”

“And what exactly is this ‘it’,” Pidge sighed. 

“My dagger,” 

“Who the hell brings a dagger to the library?!” Pidge laughed.

“I bring it everywhere!” Keith tried to defend but only made both Pidge and Hunk start laughing a bit more. 

“God, you’re so weird,” Pidge chuckled as she looked back out the window. “Sometimes I wonder why we’re friends,”

Keith rolled his eyes and looked out the window as well. The roads had turned bumpy and rough and the sidelines turned from building to trees. They parked and Keith began to look around for a house. “No use,” Hunk smiled at him. “Unless you know it’s here then you can’t really see his house,” 

“Jeez who would want to live here?” Keith hopped out of the car and looked and the trees around him. “He’s gonna get murdered one day and no one would even notice,”

“Just grab these bags so I can lead the way,” Pidge shoved some of the bags full of their supplies in his hands. He evened them out and before he could even fully look around Pidge began walking off. Hunk was next to him grabbing bags as well and following after Pidge. Hunk was actually super nice and comfortable around Keith. Surprising considering they had only just met but Keith didn’t mind. 

Keith stopped as soon as they made it in front of the house. “Wow,” He whispered as he looked at the know visible house. It had two stories which were already surprising enough but it was huge in the sense that it was wide and seemed to have a huge garage next to it. Plants were already making their ways up the side of the walls. He looked up at the trees to see cameras set up, why would he need cameras? 

He caught himself still stopped and jogged a bit forward to catch up with Pidge and Hunk. Pidge was currently digging into Hunks front pocket and finally managed to pull out what looked like a key. “Well look at you, finally stopped drooling over his house,” Pidge smirked as he began to unlock the door. 

Keith cocked his eyebrow. “You have a key to this place?” 

“Well if he’s in here he usually doesn’t care if we just barge in because he hates getting up to pick up the door,” Hunk smiled. “Pidge had her key revoked after-”

“Hunk shut up!” Pidge threw open the door and they all stepped forward. Pidge and Hunk moving to the side and Keith examining his surrounding as he set down the supplies near the door. The inside was so much different than the outside. The outside looked old, almost rundown but the inside was decorated with expensive looking tech. Not to mention amazing decorations in whole. He was only in the living room and noticed almost everything there was something he couldn’t dream of affording. 

He jumped at the sudden movement from the couch. He looked over to see someone sleeping on it. He couldn’t really tell who it was and he stepped closer to see his face covered in the blankets. Should he wake him up? That seemed like the right thing to do, to introduce himself. He reached out only for Hunk to grab his arm. He looked over to see him shaking his head. He didn’t want him to wake him up. Why? Before he could open his mouth, he was being dragged off into what looked like the kitchen. 

“Yeah, we probably should have mentioned this before but don’t wake him,” Pidge beat Hunk to it. 

“He has insomnia,” Hunk explained before Keith could ask another question. “Well it’s not really insomnia it’s more so the fact that he can hear things we can’t,” 

“You know like auditory hallucinations,” Pidge picked up. 

“He… hears voices?” Keith looked at them in confusion. 

“Don’t make it sound so weird,” Pidge crossed her hands.

“They’re real to him,” Hunk sighed. “He’ll tell you if he wants but that aside because of that he barely gets any sleep so in rare moments like this we try to let him sleep as much as possible before he gets woken up,”

“By… the voices?” Keith questioned

“Again, don’t make it sound so weird,” Pidge scolded. “He’s awesome but once he wakes up we’ll introduce you two,”

“Alright,” Keith looked at them warily then looked over at the couch. “I feel like somethings staring at me,” Keith shivered as he moved back to where all the supplies were. 

“Someone probably is,” Pidge shrugged. That failed to make Keith feel better. 

They had been here for almost two hours. Keith didn’t really mind. This house was secluded and that brought silence which he really enjoyed at times. This silence, however, was unnerving. Halfway through making their project, they realized they had forgotten something. Not necessarily but Pidge had said it was absolutely necessary for it to work. Hunk had argued but she only got more irritated until they finally agreed to go for it. Only Pidge knew what it looked like and only Hunk had a car so they agreed to just go by themselves while Keith stayed put until they got back. 

Keith found himself thinking about Blue. Why would he keep him out of all those people? It was strange to think he was able to read people so well. He hated being this curious about someone. Blue had managed to get under almost every single raider in such a short amount of time. He seemed extremely close to Zarkon however, strange. 

They should be coming back by now but Keith really needed to use the restroom and he had no idea where it was. After bouncing his leg in irritation for a bit he got up and began quietly moving around the house. Moving to the side and opening one door to another. He found a room and a couple vacant rooms before untimely finding the bathroom. Just like everything else here it was huge. Keith wondered what it must be like to live in such a place. 

Once he was done he moved out and began walking off until something caught his eye. A past room that he opened had somehow fully opened now and he saw something sparkling under the bed. He looked over in the direction of the living room a bit hesitant before ultimately making his way inside. The room seemed smallest compared to all the other rooms in the house. The only light was making its way through a part in the curtains. He bent down on his knees and reached out to grab a necklace. 

Is that what had sparkled? Jeez, these diamonds couldn’t possibly be real. Keith clutched them close to his eye. It was small he could easily just put it in his pocket and get away with it. That would cover so many hospital bills. He wouldn’t have to worry about Shiro for a while. He let out a hard sigh that he didn’t realize was being built up. He couldn’t take this, Shiro wouldn’t approve and he couldn’t find himself stealing from a stranger so instead, he put it back and stood up. 

He was about to spin around when he heard a click and he stood up straighter when something was pushed against the back of his head. “Who are you?” the other hissed. Keith could feel the danger from him and it made him shiver. 

* * *

“Lance you need to wake up!” Opening his eyes in fright he looked over at Lotor. “About time,” Lance pulled the headphones no longer playing music away from himself. Heopened his mouth to ask a question until Lotor held up his hand. “Once you fell asleep I left outside because the animals can slightly see me and I was bored,”

Lance rolled his eyes, nothing new. “And?” Before Lotor answered there was a noise. A small creak coming from his bedroom. 

“There’s someone in here,” Lotor smirked before giving a small salute and promptly leaving. 

Lance looked over at the noise. Usually, if he was in danger the Blue lion would show up but that only happened in extreme situations. This was something he could handle himself. He slowly made his way off the couch and moved over to the drawer that was next to his door. He opened it and pulled out a gun. He always kept it close to the door just in case someone was waiting for him when he got home. He moved over to the side and slowly made his way into his room. There was a boy not much older than him looking at a diamond necklace given to him by a woman he barely remembered. Perhaps he just needed money but he put it back and Lance thought of the only other option over why he was here. He was looking for something. 

The boy stood up and made his way to turn but Lance placed the gun on the intruder’s head. “Who are you?” The boy seemed to tense up. Did he know who he was? But the movements were quick and Lance barely saw the way the boy turned around, his arms making their way on the gun and pushing it to the side before kicking his legs. Lance fell down as the boy ran off but Lance grabbed his legs making him trip. 

He hit his head on the floor making him groan and Lance quickly got on top of him as they struggled for control over the gun. Lance finally managed to pull it off of him and pushed it against his back. Then something happened where flames seemed to emerge out of nowhere. Now in front of him, staring at him as if it was ready to pounce, was a red lion. Lance caught himself staring and his whole body loosened; the boy caught on to that and threw him off of him as he ran off. 

Lance shook his head and saw as the red lion disappeared. This was unexpected and if this boy was really in possession of the red lion then Lance couldn’t let him leave. He got up quickly and ran toward the boy who was already turning back and jumped on the boy about to leave. The boy fell; Lance on top of him sitting on his back. “I’ll ask you again, who are you?” 

The boy gritted as he turned his head to the side. He looked familiar. Why though? “What did you do with the boy on the couch?!” Boy on the couch? What was he talking about? This boy sounded angry but he had definitely heard that voice before. He could only see half his face but he was familiar. Lance still kept the gun to his temple and got up, turning him over so that they were now facing each other. Lance’s hands caved in a bit and both of their eyes widened in realization. 

“Wait you’re-“ 

“Lance what the hell are you doing?!” He looked over at the door to see Pidge running towards them. Pidge pushed him off and quickly helped up the other boy. Lance’s once dark eyes seemed to lighten up a bit. 

“Wait is this the guy that you said you would bring over?” Hunk nodded a bit sheepishly at the door. “Why would you just leave him here?! I thought he broke into my house or something,”

“Wait, your house?! You’re the boy that was sleeping on the couch?” The boy took a long look at him. “Aren’t you my hit and run?”

“Hit and run?” Pidge looked at them 

“Yeah and you’re that knife kid,” Lance smiled, he knew he recognized him. This was that boy, Keith. 

“Knife kid?” Lance snapped his fingers and fell to his knees as he looked under the couch and pulled out the knife he had left. 

“The knife kid,” Lance confirmed as he gave it back. 

“It’s technically a dagger,” Keith correct as he reached out and took it from him. Lance groaned. 

“Time out how do you two know each other?” Hunk looked between the two. 

“He ran me over with his bike,” Lance provided. 

“Uh huh and what the hell were you planning to do with this?” Pidge yanked the gun from his hand and examined it. 

“Intimidation factor duh,” Lance yanked it back. “It’s armed with tranquilizers don’t worry, even if I did shoot him he would just get knocked out long enough for me to call the cops,” 

"Liar," Lotor cooed from the couch. Lance glared at him. 

“You had it aimed at my head!” Keith argued. 

“Why the hell where you sneaking around my house all quiet like?!” 

“Hunk and Pidge told me not to wake you!”

“Then why were you in my room?!” Lance argued and Pidge crossed her arms. 

“I told you to stay put!” Pidge scolded

“I needed to use the restrooms and I might have gotten distracted!” Keith argued. 

“Oh God, you’re an idiot,” Hunk laughed as Pidge sighed. 

“And we're back to screaming," Lotor sighed . 

“Oh, you shut up!” He pointed at him. “Why would you tell me someone broke it?!”

“Now don’t twist my words, I said someone was in your house nothing more,” Lotor smirked at him. 

“What the hell else was I supposed to think?” Lance yelled, he felt the eyes on him. “You know what, I really don’t have the time to yell at you right now. Go away,” Lotor mocked bowed and disappeared as Lance let out a sigh. He looked over to see the others. Keith seemed uncomfortable, unsurprisingly. To him it probably just looked like he was speaking to thin air. 

“Who was it?” Pidge asked. 

“No one important,” Lance yelled that last word before turning back towards the other boy. “Yeah, I probably look insane to you,”

“You’re not?” Keith joked. 

“I mean I guess you can call it that,” Lance smirked at him. “Do you believe in ghosts?”

“Yes?,” Keith outstretched his word almost to make sure he was certain of his answer. 

“There you go,” Lance pointed at him. “That’s who I was talking to,”

A small beat passed. “Okay, so you are insane,” Keith shrugged. “I can deal with insane,” 

Lance laughed a bit. “Come on, I only have less than ten minutes before my appointment starts so we should get back," Pidge and Hunk had already made their way into the kitchen and Lance was about to as well when Keith reached out and stopped him by grabbing his wrist. 

“Now what was it that you said when I crashed into you?” Keith snapped his finger in fake realization. “Oh yeah, ‘I want a decent apology’,” 

Lance smirked at him and tossed the gun into the living room. “I’m sorry that you didn’t stay put and got yourself attacked by me,” 

“Properly,” Hunk scolded from the kitchen. “Apologize,”

“Fine, fine, I’m sorry for attacking you,” Lance held out his hand which Keith took. “I’m Lance if you need anything I’m your man,”

“Keith and I can’t offer that much,” Lance laughed at that a bit under his breath. 

“You two better get along,” Pidge yelled from the kitchen. Lance said something that Keith couldn’t really hear as he moved to the kitchen with the others. He had met two extremely strange people today and they somehow acted so similarly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well now Red has met Blue and Keith has met Lance both under horrible circumstances. And yes I know Narti is technically both Blind and mute in the show but for simplicity sake she's just blind in this story. They'll be back next chapter. Also happy early birthday to Shiro! (Swear he's coming back) Thanks for reading!


	3. I Am Not A Robot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: I Am Not A Robot by Marina and the diamonds
> 
> So Lotor is being awfully nice to Allura this season and I swear to god if he betrays her I will murder someone. We finally get Keith's mom! Thank god because I was over here trying to figure out a fake name for her plus some of Lance's siblings names! Look at my boys go!

“Stop messing with that Lance,” Pidge snatched up another piece of the project from Lance’s hands. 

“Not my fault I’m bored,” Lance sulked in his chair. They had all made their way in the kitchen. Lance on the table messing with their supplies while the other three on the floor actually putting it together. 

“Watch a movie or something,” Hunk offered, putting something together that Lance couldn’t really make out. 

“I don’t like watching them alone,” Lance whined. “Besides it won’t be long before they come and I have to stop watching it anyways,” Pidge opened her mouth to speak only for Keith to fall back in annoyance when his stomach growled. 

“You would be hungry,” The see-through man appeared next to him and looked down at him. 

“Hey, you’re back!” Lance smiled as he got up and stood in front of the man. 

“Lance there’s no one there,” Pidge idly said and she tapped away at something. 

“Sure there is,” Lance waved at him. 

“Wait you can see me?” The man stared at him in shock. 

“I guess you would be surprised since no one else can,” Lance laughed. “I’m a psychic,” 

“And there he goes again,” Keith sighed as he looked over at Pidge and Hunk. “Can he really see ghosts?” They stopped what they were doing and looked over at each other. They shared a look before ultimately shrugging and getting back to work. “Helpful,”

“Well even if we give you our opinions on this, you still won’t change your mind,” Pidge shrugged. 

“Fair enough,” Keith looked at the ceiling for a bit. “Okay let me rephrase that, do you believe he see’s ghosts?” 

They both answered almost immediately. Pidge giving a sturdy “Nope,” While Hunk let out a happy. “Definitely,” 

“Hey, I can see them. Thank you very much pigeon,” Lance sulked with his arms crossed. 

“Well to you, you see something,” She explained still not looking up from her laptop. “But I still have no proof that it’s not just schizophrenia or psychosis or, you know, another mental disorder,” 

“Well, you have no ghosts attached to you,” Lance crossed his arms. “All your dead relatives probably passed over,”

“So in other words,” Pidge finally looked up; smirking at him. “You have no evidence,”

“I hate you,” Lance pouted. 

“Who are you talking to?” Lotor stepped over and looked over at the see-through man who was smiling as they argued. “Who is this?”

“Oh yeah,” Lance thought. “I have no idea,” 

“No idea of what?” The man said. 

“Wait so you can’t see him?” Lance pointed at Lotor. 

“No?” The man stared at him. 

“No one can see anything you can,” Keith sighed as he stared up at Lance. 

“Shut up Keith I wasn’t talking to you,” Lance crossed his arms and he heard the way the man seemed to laugh at that. “So you only see the living too,” Lance hummed a bit in thought

“If it’s not too much to ask can you give him something to eat,” The man smiled a bit sheepishly pointing at Keith. “He hasn’t eaten in like two days,” 

“Jesus,” Lance quickly bent down and dragged Keith to his feet. “Keith, go over every cupboard you want and find something to eat,” He pulled out his phone and tossed it at Hunk. “And can you call Allura and tell her we’re heading over there for some food,” 

“Why the sudden fit of generosity?” Hunk chuckled. 

“Keith hasn’t eaten in two days and that ghost thing I saw before was really worried about him,”

“Wait are you serious?” Pidge looked over at Keith. “Dude, what the hell?”

“Look I just so happen to be out of money and I’m waiting for my paycheck to come in,” Keith shrugged. “I’ve gone longer without food,” 

“What the hell is wrong with you. You really need to learn money management skills,” Lance put his hands on his hips. 

“Can’t manage what you don't have,” Keith smirked at him as he began to dig through Lance’s fridge. 

Lance turned his head slowly to look directly at the see-through man who just smiled a bit apologetically. Lance pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation, opening his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud knock. “That’s probably the girls,”

“Oh, Lance finally some of your stupid pick-up lines work?” Pidge smirked at him. Lance placed his hand on his hip and rolled his eyes.

“My pickup lines always work,” Lance smiled back. “Whatever, Hunk text Allura, tell her that I’m going over there for some food,” Another knock made Lance look over at the door a bit in irritation. “Keith hurry up and pick a snack so we can leave!” 

He opened the door to see Acxa standing there the other two behind her and Narti flouting above them all. Kova, a mostly black cat with white paws, grey strips, and slight orange patches on her tail and head, was currently in Zethrids hands. They moved past Lance and looked around into his house. Kova jumping down and running into his house. “Are you ready for our appointment?” 

“Well of course, yes, you can come in,” Lance sarcastically said. “And we’re going to have to move it,”

“What?!” Zethrid moved forward, stomping her foot down and standing much closer to Lance. He just crossed his arms, not moving an inch. 

“You promised it would be today!” Ezor stomped her foot. 

“Wow, is everything alright over there?” Pidge and Hunk had stood up from their spots on the floor only to get glares from the three who had just entered. They went ignored by Lance. 

“I never said I was changing the day!” Lance sighed in order to calm himself down. “We’re just moving locations,”

“Oh to accompany them,” Acxa hissed out. This time Lance did move only to step in front of her and grab her by the collar. 

“Don’t.” He glared at them. “Talk about my friends like that,” 

“Alright buddy,” Hunk moved closer and grabbed his wrist. “I think you should let go,”

Lance shared a look with Hunk but he caved in with a sigh. “Fine, I’m sorry,” He let her go and with almost an instant reaction his smile was back on. “We’ll still have your appointment but at The Castle,”

“The Castle?” Ezor thought for a bit before snapping her fingers. “Oh, that coffee shop downtown?”

“Ugh I hate coffee,” Zethrid complained as she moved over to the couch and picked up Kova. 

“How exactly are we going to get there?” Ezor placed a hand on her hip. “It’s not exactly like we drove over here,” Yeah Lance could tell they didn’t. They never drove anywhere; they didn’t even have a car because of how easily traceable they are. 

“Well five of us can go in Hunks car,” Hunk gave him a look of complete betrayal. “I’ll pay for the gas and all of your meals,” Lance smirked. 

“You’re lucky I’m broke and Allura’s food is amazing,” Hunk mumbled. 

“Alright then two of us can go in one of my cars,” Lance clapped his hands, 

“I call Lance's car!” Pidge immediately shouted as she moved next to Lance. 

“Great now that we’ve got that settled,” Lance cupped his hands around his mouth before shouting, “Keith hurry up! We don’t have all day!” 

The girls gave each other curious looks before staring over at the spot that Lance was staring at. They knew Pidge and Hunk to a small extent. They never involved themselves with them out of Lance’s own power against them and his overprotective nature when they did seem to be talking to them. Not to mention their own disinterest in the two but they were curious to see who Lance was talking to considering these were the only two they ever saw him usually hanging out with. 

“Okay calm down, I was just looking for something to…” Keith froze as he was about to take another step towards them. He caught eyes with the girls and swallowed whatever he was chewing. “What are you doing here?” He snarled. 

Lance cocked an eyebrow. “What are you--?”

“So this is where you’ve been?” They all turned to see Acxa stepping forward hesitantly. 

“Oh no,” Keith slammed his foot down. “You don’t get to say that to me!” 

“Okay…” Lance looked between the two. “So I take it you two know each other,”

“Yes we do,” Acxa stepped forward which cause Keith’s glare to harden a bit. 

“Yeah right,” He hissed. “At best, you know me,”

“Okay well Allura is waiting for us so you can deal with that in Hunk’s car while me and Pidge just steer clear of that,” Lance smiled a bit awkwardly. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Hunk argued as he grabbed his arm. “I don’t want to be between these two alone,” Hunk looked between the two with a smile. “No offense but I don’t want to be between whatever little feud that you guys have,” 

“It’s not a feud,” Acxa argued

“Like Hell, I’m getting trapped in a car with her,” Keith argued as well. 

“Fine calm down,” Lance sighed. “Acxa I’ll take you, Pidge go with Hunk,”

“What!?” Pidge crossed her arms. “How is that fair? I called dibs first,”

“If you do this I’ll make it up to you,” Lance puckered out his bottom lips and held his hands together in a fake beg. “Please, I just don’t want them to argue the entire time over there,” 

Pidge stared at him for a bit before sighing loudly. “Fine! Take her but I swear to God you owe me a ride,” 

“Deal,” Lance laughed. “Now Acxa, come with me and you guys go on ahead. 

“Wait a tick,” Lotor suddenly appeared in front of him which in turn caused Lance to flinch back. “Aren’t you a bit curious as to how they know each other?”

“You know, it’s really none of my business,” Lance said matter-of-factly. “Besides I just want to get Keith something to eat,” He turned around with a smile to face the patient looks. “You guys hurry up and go ahead and me and Acxa will leave after you okay?”

“Alright,” Ezor sighed as she moved back. “Come on Zethrid,”

“We better get to talk to her,” Zethrid glared as she continued to pet Kova and walked out with Ezor.

“I’ll wait out with them,” Keith moved passed with a scowl still on his face. 

Acxa reached out her hand as he walked past her. “Wait, Keith—” He snatched back at his arm that she had touched and glared at her. 

“Don’t fucking touch me,” Before she could say anything he continued to move until he was completely out of the door. 

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge shared concerned looks. “Make sure he doesn’t kill anyone,” Lance warned. “He looks like the type,”

“Trust me he’s not but he will not hesitate to get into fights,” Pidge shrugged. 

“Well that’s reassuring,” Hunk sighed. “We’ll meet you over there, buddy,” Lance gave an unsure smile as they walked out. 

“I’m assuming you want to know what’s between us,” Acxa sighed with crossed her arms once she noticed everyone was gone.

“Duh but I’ve learned to stay out of people’s business unless asked otherwise,” Lance smiled as he moved next to his door and opened his drawer. He pulled out a box of cigarettes and opened the box only to stop when Acxa gave a snort. He pulled one out and outstretched it to her. 

“I thought you quit,” She smiled at him as she took it and began twirling it between her fingers. Lance pulled another one out and tossed the box back into the drawer. 

“I’m trying,” He smiled at her. “This is a step. At least it’s not as bad as it used to be,” He pulled out a lighter and lit his own placing it in-between his lips. “Want to press them together to get a light?” His smile turned into a smirk. 

Acxa rolled her eyes. Plucking Lance’s cigarette out of his mouth and replacing it with her unlit one. “No thanks,” She smiled as she took a drag of the lit cigarette. Lance chuckled at that. He looked down at the cigarettes in his hand before sighed. Breaking it in half and placing it back into the drawer. 

“I don’t think I should,” He moved into his living room and picked up the gun from earlier; flicking on the safety and placing it the inside of his jeans. “Pidge’ll have my head,” 

“Well at least you’re not addicted to quintessence anymore,” Acxa offered which only made Lance sink into himself even more. 

“Selling it, doing it,” Lance sighed “I can’t tell the difference half the time,” 

“One cigarette isn’t going to hurt you,” Acxa rolled her eyes. 

“That’s exactly what Lotor said to me the first time and then, next thing I know, it developed and I couldn’t stop smoking them,” He sighed. “No, I only use them when I’m extremely stressed out,” 

“Fine, fine.” She dropped the cigarette on the floor and crushed it under her foot. “I’m not a high schooler, I’m not trying to peer pressure you into doing it or anything,” 

Lance looked at her a bit sympathetically and motioned for her to follow him as he moved into his garage. “Well we’ve just wasted time and everyone else will probably be almost there so…” 

“Only two cars?” Acxa smiled at him. “That’s restraint,” 

“More like, ‘using my money on things I actually won’t regret’,” Lance smiled back at her. “But I think we should take this one.” He placed a hand over something that was covered in a white sheet. “She’s new but she’s the fastest one I have,” he pulled the sheets back and outstretched his hands to showcase what was underneath it. 

“Okay I take that back, two cars, and a motorcycle,” Acxa placed a hand on her hip and smiled at him. She was examining the dark blue motorcycle that Lance was proudly smiling at. “Do you even know how to drive it?” 

“Of course,” He smiled proudly. “But this is fast and we need to get there fast. It’s a win-win,” 

“Are you sure you won’t freak out behind the wheel? Or steering or whatever,” 

“Of course not,” Lance reached next to it and handed her a purple helmet then placed on his black one. 

They moved it next to the road and Lance hopped on first. Acxa behind him and gripped onto his waist. “I swear if this is just an excuse for me to hold you I will not hesitate to beat your face in,”

“Point taken,” He laughed as they began picking up speed on the road. Lance missed this, being able to drive that it. Lotor barely ever let him drive without distracting him every five seconds or getting in front of the car to scare him. Feeling the wind hit his face and the relaxation of the slightly vacant roads was a tension reliever that he needed. Acxa didn’t seem to care either way but Lance loved going fast. That was the sole reason for him buying this. 

When they finally made it, Lance noticed Hunks car parked already and both of them made their way inside. “Hey, Lance over here!” He looked over and smiled as Hunk waved him over. 

“Hey, guys did you order already?” 

“Yup Allura took our order as soon as we walked through the door,” Pidge smiled. 

“Lance, Acxa come over here,” They all looked over at the opposite end of the shop to see Ezor and Zethrid sitting down next to each other. Acxa quickly walked over to them with a smile but Lance shared an apologetic look at the three. 

“These are my clients,” he explained. “I’m gonna take care of them first and then come over here okay? Order whatever you want and Keith, I swear to god if you don’t eat,”

“I will,” He sighed sinking into his seat. “I’m starving anyway,”

“Get rid of that scowl,” He scolded. “It’ll give you wrinkles.” He waved goodbye and lightly jogged over to the three already talking. “Alright guys, Narti is here so I’ll give you the decision to just translate or let her talk to you guys through my body for extra,” 

“Just like that?” Ezor smiled. “No argument?” 

“I just want to get this over with,” Lance sighed sitting across from them. 

“Then we’ll gladly give extra in order to talk to her,” 

Lance let out a sigh and shot a glance at his friends. He closed his eyes and let his head drop. “Narti I give you permission to possess my body,” 

Lance hated transferring his body. It felt weird, unfamiliar, seeing his body in front of him. Seeing his body talking, moving, interacting without him. Narti was kind enough to stay put but it still made him unnerved knowing that his body couldn’t see and was a by someone else. Neither less he allowed them to talk.

* * *

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Pidge whispered to Hunk as they both looked over at the four. All of them smiling and laughing at each other. 

“I don’t know. Who knew he was so good with cats,” Hunk whispered back. “I guess ghosts?”

“Ghost’s aren’t real,” Pidge dragged her bag against her chair. “If he managed to get money out of his hallucinations then fine,” 

“I don’t know. He seems pretty convinced that he can see something.” Keith looked over as well. 

“Don’t tell me you believe him too,” Pidge sighed. “I feel left out somehow,” 

“Why are his eyes closed?” Keith noticed. 

“You’re glaring,” Hunk laughed. Keith caught himself and blushed a bit before falling back onto his seat. 

“So you wanna tell us what was up with you and that girl?” Pidge smirked. 

“Nope not really,” He answered simply which made Hunk laugh a bit. “Besides it’s nothing I really want you to get involved in,”

“Wow, you’ve really grown idiotic,” She laughed. “So how’s Shiro doing?” 

“Shiro?” Hunk intervened. 

“My brother,” Keith sighed. “He’s fine. No sign of waking up but I’m just trying to scrape up all the money I need,”

Pidge gave him a sympathetic look. “Well, he needs to hurry up and wake up. Matt’s coming over in like two weeks. He hasn’t really given us a specific date but he said he wants to see him,”

“Matt?” Hunk was trying to piece together the conversation. “Your brother?” Pidge nodded. 

“I hope he does,” Keith sighed. They all looked over at the counter to see Allura waving at them having already shouted the number of their order. 

“I’ll go get it. It’s mostly my food anyways,” Keith offered. He moved past the side and caught small parts of surrounding conversations. “Thank you,” He said to the girl named Allura and began walking back to the table where the group of girls and Lance were now at. 

“-Yeah we just got called back so we need to leave,” Zethrid explained. Ezor moved over to Lance and smiled. Not that he could see with his eyes closed. 

“We miss you Narti,” She pulled him into a hug. Acxa joined in too and for a moment they just stayed that way until Lance seemed to slowly opened his eyes and pushed them away. 

“She’s gone,” He smiled sadly. “She said bye,” They all stepped back with their sad smiles and nodded. Keith moved past them and sat down on the edge of the booth they had chosen. Ezor and Zethrid both pulled out a one-hundred-dollar bill and passed it over to Acxa who pulled out her own. 

“Three hundred,” Acxa smiled. “Just like we promised,” 

“It’s only going to get more expensive,” Lance warned as he took the money. “You really should go visit her grave,” 

Ezor smiled at him but moved away with Zethrid. “We’ll think about it,” They began walking off when Acxa stopped them whispering something as they nodded and headed off first. 

“Keith?” Acxa moved a bit forward and he, in turn, ignored her. “Come on Keith she just wants to talk to you,”

“You should remind her that she’s the one that left us,” He sneered. 

“She had no choice in that,” Acxa argued. “She made a huge risk even giving me her location, please will you just hear her out,”

“Yeah. Like she heard me out for the past, how long has it been? Ten years? Thanks, but no thanks. She’s no mother of mine,” Lance’s eyes widened a bit at that but flickered between discomfort and empathy. 

“Please, they’re getting close. If the Galra-,” That caught Lance’s attention but it was interrupted as Keith slammed his hand on the table making a few turn towards him. 

“She’s the one that got involved with them! And for what? Some stupid job?!” Keith pointed at Acxa slightly pushing her back. “I don’t need her little messenger girl who she actually allowed by her side to tell me how I should feel about the women who abandoned her family… Who abandoned me!” He seemed to bite his lip at that and let his head fall back. Acxa opened her mouth but Lance moved between them and held up his hand as a signal for her to stop. 

“Acxa enough,” He gently addressed. “I’m telling this to you as someone who can easily leak your name and location to everyone above me, back off.” He lowered his hand and Acxa was staring at him in shock at the threat. 

A moment passed until a man moved next to them. “I’m gonna have to ask you to leave,” he said sternly with a sweet voice. “You’re causing quite a commotion,” He twirled his mustache in between his fingers. 

Acxa sighed finally and pulled out a pen from her jacket. Grabbing a napkin, she began to scribble down a number and slid it over to Keith who was currently leaning his head on his hand as he stared in the opposite direction. He made no move to even glance at it. “Just in case you change your mind,” Then she glared at the man and left. 

They all let out a sigh. “Jeez what was that about?” Pidge asked and Keith only gave her a sideways glance before getting up.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” Not letting them answer he quickly moved away. 

“New friend?” 

“Yeah, sorry for getting you involved Coran,” Lance addressed the man with a smile and he simply smiled back. 

“No forgiveness needed,” Coran moved back. “Allura hadn’t noticed you were here until that woman started yelling. We’re assuming you were possessed?” 

“Yup,” Lance nodded happily which caused Pidge to jump in. 

“Uh no, no he wasn’t,” Pidge rolled her eyes playfully. “You’re only feeding his little episodes by playing along,” 

“Still a skeptic I see,” Coran smiled. 

“Sadly,” Hunk smiled at him. “But we’re getting there,” 

“Getting where?” They all turned to see Keith whose hair seemed to be dripping water. 

“Oh, Coran this is Keith,” Hunk introduced. “Keith, Coran,” 

“Another one?” Coran gave Lance a look who seemed to cock an eyebrow before realizing what he was talking about. He nodded vigorously. 

“Yeah, I saw it!” Lance smiled and noticed the way Pidge seemed to facepalm. “Go get Allura I want to tell her in person!” 

“Already on it,” He saluted and moved back over the counter. Lance sat down next to Keith since Hunk and Pidge were already seated next to each other and he seemed to be bouncing up and down. 

“Alright spill it what did you see?” Pidge sighed. 

“Oh, look who suddenly decided to believe,” Lance smirked and Pidge glared at him as she sunk into her seat. Allura came rushing forward and smiled happily at Lance. 

“You’ve found a guardian?” She happily asked. 

“Yes! I attacked him and I saw it!” Lance happily admitted. Pidge and Hunk looked over at Keith who was staring at them curiously while he ate. 

“Which one?” She looked over at him. “Wait let me guess, fire?” 

Lance began having a fit of laughter. “Spot on, we’ve found the red lion!”

“I swear you two get more cryptid the more we visit,” Hunk chuckled. 

“He has no necklace…” Allura looked over at Keith who held up his hands. 

“I don’t even know what’s going on,” Keith glanced over at Pidge for explanation who only chuckled at his cluelessness. 

“You’re the paladin destined to guide the red lion!” Allura happily jumped up. “May we see it?”

“Red lion?” Keith looked at the two before staring at Hunk and whispering. “Are they both like—,” He twirled his finger in circular motions around the side of his head making Hunk chuckle a bit under his breath. 

“Rude!” Lance interrupted as he hit Keith’s arm. “We’re just talking about the red lion,” He pulled out his necklace and showed Keith his blue one. Pidge and Hunk pulled out theirs as well and showed it to him. “You have the red one! I saw it protecting you,” Lance clapped his hands. “We want to see it!” 

Keith looked at the necklaces around him and snapped his fingers. “My keychain, is that what you’re talking about?” 

“Just play along,” Pidge whispered towards him as she tapped her finger against the green lion around her neck. “They like to think these are guardians,”

“They are guardians!” Allura interrupted. “Hunk holds the guardian spirit of the land, Lance the one of water, and you hold the guardian of the forest!” 

“Yes because I, Pidge, the tech geek who hates the outdoors is going to be chosen by the forest of all things,” She smirked.

“That’s kinda cool,” Keith looked between all of them. 

“Why thank you, Keith,” Lance stuck his tongue out at Pidge. 

“No don’t agree!” Pidge argued. “Why would a guardian, if they’re even real, want to spend their time in a necklace with some random teenagers?!” 

“Look even if it’s not real it is kind of cool,” Keith smiled as he pulled his phone from his pocket and then his keys. “Like even if this is just a hallucination on their part, they look at you greatly enough to take part in something they see as amazing,” Keith laughed as he showed him the small red lion pendant hanging off his keys. 

“No way…” Allura picked it up and separated it from his keys. “I never thought I’d see the day,” 

“Why the hell would you use it as a keychain?!” Lance gasped. “Red is amazing you can’t just hang her off in your pocket like that,”

“Well sorry,” Keith rolled his eyes. “What else was I supposed to do?” 

Hunk laughed. “Well, he says they’re better around your neck,” 

“Why?” 

“Well because they’re more connected to you,” Pidge shrugged as she overdramatically placed a hand on her chest and the lion. “In your heart,”

Keith snorted. “What heart?” 

“Oh, emo Keith strikes again!” Lance laughed. Keith looked over at him a bit to notice the girl was gone. He quickly got up and looked around. 

“Hold on where’s red?”

“Wow calm down,” Hunk held up his hands sensing Keith’s tension. 

“My brother gave me that I can’t—,”

“Calm down,” Lance pulled him back down which caused the napkin with scribbled numbers on it to fall to the ground. 

“Wow, so he really is bonded to it,” Allura came back and held out a chain where the red lion was now clearly hanging from it. “There so you can wear it more proudly,” 

Keith took it and examined it in his hands carefully. He didn’t really understand why they seemed to be staring at him with huge eyes. He sighed and moved it around his neck clipping it behind himself and dragging his hand across the chain before finally letting it drop over his heart. “Thank you,”

“Now we only need one more!” Lance happily stated. 

“Indeed!” Allura high-fived him. “Well, it’s getting near closing time,”

“I’m telling you, princess, keep your shop open a bit longer and you’ll get a lot more customers,” Keith perked up at that nickname and looked over at the two strangely. Were they dating? Well, that did make sense, they seemed to know each other well. 

“And a lot less sleep,” Allura smiled. “I’m fine with how much I make,” 

“Well I would love to help you but we really should be off,” Lance smiled. He stood up and pulled out the three hundred that he was given. “You can keep the change,” He said with a wink. 

“If you weren’t already ridiculously rich I wouldn’t take this,” She folded all three bills once and put it in her back pocket with a smirk. “But since it’s you I’ll make an exception,” 

Keith, Pidge, and Hunk were all standing now beside him and shouting goodbyes at Allura and Coran as they walked out. Lance kissed Allura’s cheek playfully like he always did at the end of a day and looked over at the table to make sure he hadn’t left that big of a mess. He hadn’t but he caught a napkin on the floor. He bent down to pick it up and throw it away only for him to see the numbers scribbled down on it. Keith probably hadn’t seen it fall to the ground. Should he return it? 

“Stay out of it,” He jumped at Lotor’s voice right next to him. “This isn’t your business, just set it down or throw it away,”

“But what if he needs it?” Lance got up as he looked at Lotor. 

“It’s on the ground and he’s outside not even remembering whatever it is,” Lotor sighed. “Trust me when I say he doesn’t need it,”

Lance still shoved it in his pocket which caused Lotor to groan at his uncooperative behavior. “Bye Allura. Bye Coran!” He got a quick goodbye as well. He ran out the doors and saw the three waiting for him at the entrance. 

“About time,” Pidge sighed. “Where’s your car?” Lance was currently looking over onto the sky distracted by whatever he was seeing. “Lance?! Your car?” He jumped but nodded a bit. He walked over to his motorcycle and held put on his helmet. 

“Here she is,” He smiled happily. 

“This is what you used to take you and Acxa?” Keith marveled and Lance proudly nodded. 

“Okay, no,” Hunk stepped forward. “Buddy we’ve talked about this,”

“Come on,” Lance whined. “I miss driving,” 

“No way Lance,” Pidge shook her head. “Last time you ended up in the hospital because you swerved out in the middle of the road because you thought you saw something,”

“I did see something and besides it was nothing! I was out in like two days.” Lance shrugged carelessly. 

“Nope, you’re not driving,” Hunk mimicked Pidge’s pose. For a few seconds, Lance said nothing before letting out a long and annoyed groan. 

“Fine but what the hell am I supposed to do with this!” Lance motioned at his motorcycle that was still being admired by Keith. “I am not leaving it here,” 

Pidge and Hunk shared a glance about to throw out a suggestion before Keith interrupted them. “I could take him home if you want,” 

“You know how to drive a motorcycle?” Hunk questioned suspiciously. 

“You do look like the type,” Lance circled around him. “But you were riding a bike earlier,” 

“I had to sell mine to catch up on a few payments,” He explained almost shyly. 

“But you crashed your bike into me,” Lance tested. 

“Because I was on the phone and the sidewalk,”

“Hm,” Lance and Hunk shared a look. “Should we?” 

Pidge was too busy laughing to butt in but she finally calmed herself up enough to interrupt. “He’s not lying. He really does know how to drive it,” 

“Come on Lance,” Lotor whispered in his ear. “Why don’t we just go home without the hassle of this extra kid and you can sleep all you want,” 

Lance swallowed nothing. “Keith,” He grabbed his hand and pushed his keys to him. “If you scratch it in the slightest I will kill you,” 

“Like I could ever scratch her up,” Keith admired. “Pidge, Hunk Y'all go home and I’ll take Lance back to his house,”

“I’m having the sudden urge to vomit at the fact that you just said Y'all,” Pidge sighed. 

“And I am resisting the urge to take back my keys,” Lance shivered. 

“Oh stop it you two.” Hunk shook his head with a smile. “Alright. Keith, I’ll leave your bike at Lance’s house and I’ll see you tomorrow buddy,” 

“See you, big guy!” Lance looked over at Pidge and smirked. “And you too midget,”

She rolled her eyes and flicked him off as they began walking away. “Don’t let him die!” Pidge yelled at Keith before jumping into Hunk’s car. 

“Well, um,” Keith got on his bike. As he sat down Lance noticed how much more relaxed he got. “God, I haven’t driven in so long,” Lance placed the extra helmet on Keith’s head as he sat behind him. 

“Better safe than sorry,” He smiled as he gripped around his waist. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” It didn’t take very long for Keith to begin driving off. God, he missed it. Being able to just feel free again. To feel so in control but things come first. And the money he had gotten from selling his own bike was money he really needs and didn’t regret getting. He loved riding but he usually did it on his own with his own bike. It was strange to have someone tagging along. At first, Lance had been calm enough. Halfway there, however, he shrunk down onto his back and seemed to tighten his hold on Keith. Before he could ask what was wrong Lance just whispered out a small, “There are too many people on the road,” A hallucination as far as Keith knew. Something he couldn’t help with so he didn’t get involved. 

When they finally made it to Lance’s house and put away his motorcycle Lance seemed to be distracted by something until they finally made it into the house and Lance flopped down on his couch with an exhausted sigh. “Well I should be heading out,” Keith said awkwardly ready to leave. 

“Wait,” Lance’s voice made him stop. “You forgot this in the shop. I don’t know if you needed it,”

Keith took it and saw the napkin that Acxa had left for him. “Why’d you take it?” He hissed. 

“Like I said I didn’t know—,”

“If you don’t know something, stay out of it!” Keith yelled as he tore up the number on the ground. “This has nothing to do with you!”

“Why are you mad?” Lance questioned, unfazed by Keith outburst. 

“Because of Acxa!” He began pacing. "She needs to stay out of my life!" 

“Did she do something?” 

“Obviously,” He clutched his fists. “She had no right to leave crap like that to me! Playing the victim just like my mom taught her!”

“Did you know your mom?” 

“I thought I did,” Keith let out a laugh. “She was too caught up in her own bullshit that she decided to completely abandon me! What kind of mother does that?! I don’t even know where she is for crying out loud! Why am I telling this to you?!” Keith yelled in confusion at Lance who only smiled in return. 

“I have a way with people.” He sat up on the couch. “Or maybe you just need to let it out,”

“Let it out?” He scoffed. “How the hell am I supposed to let this out?!”

“You want to break something?” Keith looked over at him for a second. 

“What?!”

“Well I’ve learned that pent-up anger can kill you on the inside so I’ve learned to push it outward,” Lance smiled and Keith only stared at him blankly. He rolled his eyes and hopped off the couch moving to a room and coming back only a minute later. “Choose your weapon,” 

Keith looked down at Lance who was holding out a knife, a gun, and a bat. “Are you insane?” 

“Maybe,” Lance laughed. 

Keith cocked his eyebrow before picking up the bat and almost immediately Lance dropped the other ones to the ground as if he didn’t care who might get them. “Now what?” 

“Now destroy something,” Lance laughed. 

“Are you serious?” Keith stared at him as he nodded. “What about your parents? When they come home you’re going to get in trouble,” 

“Parents?” Lance laughed a bit. “Who said I lived with them?” 

“You… don’t?” 

“Well no,” Lance shrugged. “They hate me,” Keith stared at him sympathetically before Lance seemed to notice it and give him a huge smile. “Come on it’s not like I can’t afford this, I’ll start,” With that, he moved his hand behind the back of his T.V. and pushed it down with a crash. He laughed when Keith jumped and moved back to the couch. “Your turn!”

For a few minutes Keith didn’t know what to do but stare at the clearly broken T.V. Then his heartbeat started to pick back up. The previous conversation coming back to him as he gripped the bat with two hands now. Yeah, he was still angry at everything, even now, so he began to slam the bat against the T.V. He didn’t know what had gotten into him but he just couldn’t catch himself to stop beating into this stupid house. When he was satisfied with the T.V. He wanted to move on; to break more things in this kids house but he stopped himself. His heart was beating too fast and he felt sweat on his forehead. 

“Oh God, what’s wrong with me,” Keith dropped the bat as he stepped back. 

“Nothing,” Lance smiled from the couch. “It was fun to see your little outburst of anger but it is normal,” 

“No, it’s not!” Keith screamed, what was this kid doing to him? “Shiro would be ashamed…” 

“Shiro?” Keith looked up and only shook his head. 

“I’m leaving,” He stumped over the glass around him and swung open the door. Just as promised Hunk had left his bike and he jumped on as he began moving away from that house that he had ruined the T.V. to and who he knew the owner of was currently staring at him leaving from the door. What had happened to him? He hated releasing that much horrible emotions out yet Lance hadn’t looked at him differently. Right before he left he seemed almost pleased. Like he expected Keith to do it and that only pissed him off even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea why I'm deciding to post such long chapter but hey it's pretty fun to write these. Thanks for reading!


	4. The Monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: The Monster by Eminem ft. Rihanna.
> 
> I’m just throwing the story in your face at this point. Pick up on those not so subtle little hints on how Lance got involved with the Galra. Let’s see who can guess the back story first! It’s actually pretty easy to figure out or maybe that’s just me, someone who already knows it, saying dumb stuff like that.

“Why would you let him do that?” Lotor hovered over Lance who was still lying in bed. His long white hair dangling down as he floated on top of him. Lance looked over at the clock with its beeping numbers. 

“30 minutes of silence,” Lance nodded. “Pretty good,”

“Oh shut it,” Lotor sneered. “You are just recklessly letting things get to your head,”

“He just needed to release some steam,” Lance sighed. “It’s not like I can’t afford to get a new T.V.”

“This isn’t about the T.V. Lance. My father gives you more than enough money to rebuild an entire house each day,” Lotor placed a hand on either one of his cheeks; hovering them as they moved through him. Lance straightened up with a grown, he swore he could almost feel him. Lotor got closer and closer to the point where Lance was pushing his back against the bed to get more space. “This is about you. This is dangerous, he’s dangerous. Do not get close to him,” 

“What do you know about this?” Lance shivered. He hated this. He needed to move. 

“I know so much more then you want to admit,” Lotor smirked. He moved one hand away from his cheek only to place two fingers on the side of his head, his thumb sticking up. He jerked his head to the side as he brought his thumb down as he mimicked a small, quiet, explosion. 

Lance finally couldn’t take it anymore. He got up quickly and phased straight through him as he shook his head. “I’m going out,” 

“Shouldn’t you clean up your mess first?” Lotor seemed unfazed by the sudden proclamation. 

“Not right now,” Lance looked around trying to look for the headphones Pidge had made him to block out any noise. “I’m just going to the back!” He said as he found them. He loved his backyard. Close to his house, he had a stereo where he would practice his singing and there was enough room where he could move around with freedom without worrying about crashing into something. During the summer, if he had enough time, he would sometime install a place to tie two ribbons so he could practice his aerial skills. It was cold now so he stuck with studios. It had trees surrounding the house which allowed quick shade if needed but it was open enough where you could still see the sky. On a tree, much closer than most, a hammock was set up between it and another close by tree. 

He didn’t feel like listening to music but the headphones alone blocked out a large set of noise so he still slid them on. He wondered what it was like to just have complete quiet. To be able to hear the sounds of birds chirping or the crickets at night. To just be surrounded by nothing but silence except noises that belong. It wasn’t fair but his grandma had warned him about this. About days where he feels so miserable because of this “gift” that was passed down from her. It had skipped his mother and his older sister but had somehow been potent in him. She had long passed over but she taught him everything he needed to know before leaving. He missed being able to confide in someone and staring at the sky where the stars twinkled he wondered if he went to space if he would see the spirits. He’s always wanted to go up there, it was one of his dreams. One that he had to bury sadly. He was getting tired and the wind rocked the hammock in a way that made it just barely rock enough for it to calm him down and yet was easy to relax into. He found himself drifting off as he stared at the sky. 

He woke up on the ground staring up at an angry looking Pidge. “Why the hell are you sleeping outside?!”

“Jesus Pidge,” Lance stood up. “And here I finally got more than an hour of sleep,”

“Yeah I can tell, your alarm is going off and you didn’t even hear it,” 

“Crap!” Lance shot up. “How long have you been waiting?” 

“A fucking while,” Pidge yelled. “And what the hell is up with your living room?”

“My living room?” Pidge rolled her eyes as if Lance was lying about everything. “Still not following,” So she grabbed his hand and dragged him back into his house where she crossed her arms once they made it into the living room. Hunk was standing on the side of the couch. He seemed worried when he looked at Lance. Keith was sitting on the couch. His arms crossed, head down and one leg over the other tapping away anxiously at the floor.

“So you’re telling me you don’t see a completely smashed T.V. on the floor?” Pidge addressed. 

Lance chuckled awkwardly. “I meant to clean that up,” 

“Lance, just because you can afford it doesn’t make this healthy,” Hunk argued as he stepped forward. “I thought you said you stopped!” 

“I did,” Lance argued as he pulled at his shirt. 

“Yeah because that explains the broken T.V.” Pidge huffed. 

“Just tell us the truth, what got you so worked up?” Hunk sighed. He spoke softer, while Pidge was angry, Hunk was hurt almost worried and Lance glanced over at Keith who only looked back at him anxiously waiting for his reply. “I mean you haven’t done this in a while,”

“Unless he’s been cleaning up and replacing them before we found out,” Pidge grumbled out. 

Lance finally let out a sigh. “Fine,” He gave Keith one final glance, he, in turn, let his head drop again. “I was mad about my motorcycle,” He smiled. Keith finally looked up in shock. 

“Your…motorcycle?” Hunk drew out. 

“You’re telling me you smashed an eight hundred dollar T.V. because you didn’t get to ride your motorcycle?!” Pidge screamed. She dragged her hands across her hair. “Oh my God, you are so spoiled…”

“Hey no, I’m not!” 

“Dude, why would you smash a T.V. because of that?” Hunk looked between the glass on the floor and back at Lance. “Are your episodes coming back?” 

“What?” Lance almost immediately began shaking his head. “No those only happen when I’m in crowded places. I know how to control them,”

“Obviously,” Pidge looked down at the T.V. “Were you even going to tell us?!”

“About this?” Lance sighed. “I was hoping I could clean it up but I forgot that you were gonna pick me up today,” 

“No, you didn’t,” Lotor suddenly appeared next to him with a small snort. “You always set your alarm an hour before they get here to tie up loose ends that might emerge,” 

“Oh you shut up,” Lance sighed as he glared off into his side. “You were just yelling at me yesterday and I felt more comfortable outside,” 

“And what did I say?” Lotor hovered around Keith. “I told you not to get too close to him but here you are protecting him from what?” Lotor smiled as Lance shrunk down. “He’s not to be trusted,” He said harshly. 

“Who are you seeing?” Keith finally spoke up as he glanced up at where Lance was staring and back at Lance who seemed uncomfortable. 

“No one,” Lance turned his head and sighed. “Another voice yelling at me about the broken T.V.” 

“I’m not yelling,” Lotor flouted around him. 

Keith buried his hands in his head a bit in guilt with a groan but Pidge broke in. “Dude do you need to see a counselor or something again?” 

“What, no.” Lance turned to her. 

“Buddy you don’t have to act so defensive. If you do it’s okay. If you’re seeing things too clearly right now or not clearly enough,” Hunk offered with a smile.

“What? I thought you believed me with the ghosts!”

“I do but episodes are something completely different,” Hunk sighed. “A T.V. is just an object it can be replaced but what if one day you destroy something more… valuable,”

“No, I would never!” 

“Lance we know you would never do it on purpose but it doesn’t make it any less dangerous,” Pidge softened her voice. “We’re just trying to look after you,” 

Lance stomped his foot but Keith got up suddenly with his arms outstretched. “Okay, I can’t take it anymore!” He sighed as he moved between Pidge, Lance and Hunk before finally setting his eyes on Pidge. “I broke the stupid T.V. okay?!”

“Wait. You—,” Hunk looked between Keith who was closing his eyes waiting for a reaction and Lance who was smiling awkwardly. 

“Why the hell didn’t you tell us sooner before we scolded Lance about it!?” Pidge yelled. 

“Well at first I thought he would have cleaned it up by now but when you froze at the door I kinda panicked because I really didn’t have the money to replace it and I was going to butt in but then Lance took the fall and I thought getting involved would make it worse but then you guys started saying things that I didn’t really understand and now we’re here,” Keith took in deep breath before looking over at Lance. “Sorry about that,”

“What did I tell you!” Lance laughed at Lotor who was now glaring at him. “Looks like you were wrong after all,”

“Okay, he’s lost it,” Pidge sighed. “Would you just hurry up and get ready while we talk to Keith,” 

“No,” Lance said calming his laughter. “Don’t do that here,” 

“Fine,” Pidge huffed as she glared at Keith.

“Hurry up though Lance,” Hunk rolled his eyes. “We’ve wasted enough time. At this point, I just want to go to school,”

“Aye aye sir,” Lance said with a small solute as he made his way into his room. He quickly began changing and doing his normal routine as quickly as possible. Making his way back and forth between the bathroom he heard shuffling in the living room but paid no mind to it. When he finally did make it out he saw as Pidge and Hunk were staring at Keith as he was sweeping the glass altogether. 

“Are you finally done?” Pidge looked over at him. 

“We should probably get going anyways,” Hunk began moving over to the door. Keith stood there for a moment before abruptly dropping the broom on the floor as he moved over to the door. 

“Come one we don’t want to be late to class,” 

Lance didn’t want to correct him by saying that he only took night classes online because he can’t deal with crowds that big so he just smirked as he walked right next to Pidge. “I swear you only have weird friends,” Lance whispered as he swung his backpack onto his shoulders.

“You’re like my weirdest friend,” Pidge smirked at him as they began walking out the door. 

Lances eyes softened as a small smile crept onto his face. Placing both of his hands on his chest he let out a joyful, “Aw thank you!” 

“You’re very welcome, you dork.” She punched his arm softly. Lance made sure to lock his door as they all made it out and moved over to Hunks car. Pidge calling shotgun and Lance and Keith stuck in the back. 

When they were all ready a small silence fell over them as Hunk glared at the back. Lance cocked an eyebrow and looked over at Keith. He was staring out the window seemingly lost in thought but Lance knew why Hunk wasn’t driving so he tapped Keith’s shoulder as he cleared his throat. Keith visibly tensed up but looked over at Lance who whispered out, “Your seatbelt,” 

He was confused for a second before quickly putting on his seatbelt and sinking into his seat a bit. “Sorry,” He said as Lance chuckled a bit. 

“Great now we can head out,” Hunk smiled as he finally began driving off. “Lance where should I drop you off,” 

“Please let it be somewhere close considering you took so damn long to get ready,” Pidge sighed. 

“Actually I have no idea!” Lance laughed. “Just drop me off in front of the school with you guys,” 

“You sure?” Hunk looked at the rearview mirror for a second before focusing his gaze on the road again. 

“Actually…” Lance thought, mentally arguing with himself before nodding. “Yeah just drop me off at the hospital,” 

“Hospital?” Keith looked over at him. “Aren’t you going to class,” 

“I don’t have class this early. Too many people,” Lance shivered. 

“Okay I can do that,” Hunk nodded. 

“Why do you even need to go to the hospital?” Pidge questioned as she turned her body to look at them. 

“I need to visit someone,” 

“Hardly,” Lotor appeared in front of him which made Lance back up against his seat. Keith didn’t react much but he did look at him from the corner of his eyes in confusion. “You’re going to go see that witch, aren’t you?”

“Yes but…” He looked around the car and noticed Keith gaze and Pidges confused face. “This isn’t really the place to talk about this,”

“Remember when I told you to stay out of people’s lives?” Lotor sneered. “That includes mine,” 

“‘That includes mine’,” Lance mocked in a horribly butchered accent. “You’re not even alive,” 

“Wait was that an English accent?” Keith questioned and both Lance and Lotor looked over at him in confusion. 

“Is your imaginary friend from England?” Pidge laughed as Keith joined her. 

“First of all, I doubt he’s from England. And secondly, he’s not imaginary!” Lance yelled. 

“I’m neither imaginary nor your friend,” Lotor smirked as Lance let out a sharp gasp. 

“Excuse you, I am an amazing friend,” 

“I mean you’re something,” Pidge shrugged. 

“Why did they say that?” Keith smiled over at him.

“He said ‘I’m neither imaginary nor your friend’,” Lance said once more in a horribly duplicated accent. 

“You’re fricken accent dude,” Keith covered his eyes as he laughed out. 

“I can’t believe your own mind just dissed you!” Pidge laughed as well.

“Hey excuse you disembodied ghost but Lance is an amazing friend!” Hunk yelled from the driver’s seat. 

“Thank you Hunk.” Lance placed a hand over his heart. “At least someone believes me,”

“Of course, now stop distracting me!” He scolded. “You guys are too loud,” 

“Yes sir Mr. mom,” Pidge saluted as with a smile as he sat back on her seat. 

“So is he here?” Keith looked over at Lance who looked back a bit confused. “The guy with the accent, I mean,”

“Who? My ‘imaginary friend?’ As you so delicately put it,” Lance smirked.

“I mean, is he? Or is he just like a hallucination?” Keith looked over at him innocently which made Lance kind of angry yet he seemed to soften knowing Keith wasn’t trying to mock him. 

“He’s a ghost,” Lance pouted.

“Okay…” Keith drew out as he continued to look at Lance despite him looking straight ahead at nothing. 

“So… you believe me?” Lance was ready for a straight answer. A yes or a no or maybe a laugh. He was even ready to be called names, other people did that. A lot of other people got scared of him whether they believed him or not but Keith just let out a sigh. 

“I haven’t decided yet,” Lance finally did meet his eyes a bit in shock so Keith was quick to explain. “Well, I know that you believe they’re ghosts so like even if they aren’t you yourself believe they are so I can’t just completely deny you of your thoughts but that doesn’t mean that I completely believe you see them. I know you see something and I can accept that they’re ghosts for you but for me, it’s a bit… harder to get it. Does that make sense?” Lance still only stared at him a bit in confusion. “Oh God it doesn’t, does it? And here I was spending my whole last night anywhere with free Wi-Fi doing research just to try and not offend you!” Keith buried his face in his hands a bit of embarrassment but Lance only got more confused. 

“Wait, research?” Keith brought his face up and Lance looked directly into his eyes. “You did research on this?” 

“I mean… yeah,” Keith sort of chuckled a bit as he shrugged his shoulders. “I assumed that we would see each other more often and I wanted to know how to properly deal with things like that.” Keith picked up his book bag and pulled out a small notebook as he handed it to Lance to look through with a small chuckle. “I even took notes on things I thought were most important to remember. I looked up a crapload of stuff about hallucinations. Like ways to treat them and how they act and stuff. It’s pretty interesting… Sorry, I’m making you sound like you’re some mental patient!” Keith reached out to grab the notebook that Lance was reading only for him to pull it back. 

“Actually this is really sweet!” Lance smiled down at the notebook with a small fondness. “Usually people don’t try to get it, they just brush it off or think I’m some sort of crazy person.” Lance turned the page as he skimmed the messy sentences written down. “You put effort into this… into me. That’s so much more than most people that I meet. Look, you even made notes on psychics! You even researched that?!” 

“Well yeah, I was curious!” Keith awkwardly chuckled. 

“Dang as soon as I thought it was getting better!” Pidge interrupted making both of them face up the front. “What did I say?! Psychics aren’t real!”

“Her skepticism aside, I support whatever it is you’re doing Keith. One hundred percent!” Hunk smiled at them. 

“Well actually Pidge I did a bit of research and even if you don’t believe him it’s technically bad saying stuff like that,” Keith chuckled as he grabbed his notebook back and flipped a page before smiling. “Yeah see! Right here I wrote, ‘Do not ridicule or disagree with what they believe they are seeing. Steer them in the right direction towards reality and make them know that you cannot see what they see but make them unafraid or embarrassed to talk to you about it’,” 

Lance broke a small silence that overtook them with a laugh. “Not to be trusted my ass!” He laughed at Lotor. “I can’t believe you did this!” He grabbed the notebook away from him. 

“I mean it was the least I could do,” Keith smiled. “Although I couldn’t really find a whole lot about psychics despite the strong belief that they aren’t real and that the real ones claim it’s not like you and they can’t see ghosts,”

“Point!” Pidge yelled from the front. 

“Oh be quiet,” Hunk laughed. “Let them just talk this out,” 

Lance chuckled a bit at Hunk but directed his comment back to Keith’s comment. “Well, that’s understandable. My type of psychic ability is super rare and hard to find.” Keith cocked his eyebrow which made Lance roll his eyes a bit. “Okay, so there are two separate worlds. The spirit world and the living world, unofficial names but that’s just what I call them,” Keith snorted at that which made Lance falter a bit before continuing. “Okay, so I have the ability to see and hear both of them at the same time. No matter what, I will always see straight through both. Other people get different abilities depending on how heightened they are. Like most commonly was the one you mentioned. Allura has it too!”

“Doubtful,” Pidge mumbled from the passenger seat. 

“You remember Allura right? The girl with white hair who took our order in The Castle?”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember her,” Keith membered they seemed pretty close. He also remembered how happy she got when they saw his keychain. 

“Well she, like others, can see the spirit world but only if it connects with this world first. A big example is like possession. She can’t see nor tell that the person is being possessed but she sees the ghost that is possessing them,” Lance chuckled a bit. 

“Wait so what about like animals and babies? Don’t they supposedly see stuff like that?” Keith was getting too into this, he knew that, but oh my god was this amazing to hear about. 

“Trickier to explain,” Lance chuckled. “Animals have heightened senses and babies just ignore them as they grow. Everyone is a psychic in a sense and as such, they all have extremely small and subtle things ticking it off. Like when you feel someone staring at you but no one is supposedly there. It’s like a self-defense mechanism but as you grow up a lot of people ignore those signs and they just kinda grow dull,” 

“This is so goddamn interesting,” Keith thought out loud.

“Oh don’t tell me you believe him!” Pidge sighed

“Please tell me you believe him!” Hunk laughed

“I still honestly don’t know.” Keith smiled as he stuffed his notebook in his bag and looked back at Lance. “But I’m on the verge,”

“Of course you would, you conspiracy theory nut!” Pidge sunk into her seat. 

“So are their like other abilities?” Keith asked which made Lance light up at being able to talk about this to someone else. 

“Yeah, but not many,” He shouted out the first one that popped into his mind without consciously running it through his head first. He just really wanted to continue talking about this to Keith. “Like the ability to see the future!” 

“Wait is that like predetermined?” Keith wondered. 

“Well yes and no,” He answered. “It changes, you can change it,”

“Someone with the ability to see the future?” Hunk said from the front. “Who?” 

Lance froze. Zarkon. He had that ability but they had no idea he was involved with them. They knew who Zarkon was though, the whole damn world knew who he was, but no one besides Allura knew about his ability. How could he bring it up so lightly just to thrill someone else? No, it was dangerous to even say his name, too dangerous. He shouldn’t be talking about him. If he found out he would kill him. No, he was too valuable he would do something much worse.

“Lance?” He jumped at the voice despite it being soft. He looked up to see both Pidge and Keith looking at him with concern. Hunk from the front was also turned around but he noticed that they weren’t moving. The car was parked next to a giant building, the hospital. He had completely forgotten he asked to come here. “You okay?” Pidge asked. 

“Sorry we- I asked too many questions, didn’t I?” Keith seemed a bit uncomfortable and Lance only shook his head. 

“No, it’s fine. Just got a bit disconnected from you guys.” He opened the door and quickly jumped out the door before looking over at the hospital he was now in front of. “Thanks for the ride buddy!” 

“You sure you’ll be fine?” Hunk asked yelled back at him. “You look really pale,”

“Yeah, and wouldn’t there be too many people in there?” Pidge questioned as she pocked her head out the window. “What if you get blocked out?”

“I’ll be fine.” Lance tried to smile it off but it didn’t seem to work because none of their faces softened in worry. “Worst case scenario I have an episode, I’m in the hospital already. I’ll be fine,”

It took a while but Hunk finally sighed, “Alright call me where you want me to pick up okay?”

“You got it, big guy!” And Lance knew by now that he wouldn’t drive off until he saw him walk in the hospital so he jogged all the way the opening before turning around and waving at them. He didn’t wait for a response and just made it inside. 

“Lance what are you doing here?!” Lotor hissed. “Can’t you just stay out of my business!”

“Your mom will be happy to see you,” Lance sighed as he signed in under Lotor’s name. 

“Yeah right,” He sneered as he followed Lance into the elevator. “You’re the one who wants to see her. She treated you much more like a son,” 

“More like a lab rat,” Lance sighed. “She only liked my gift, she was interested in that but I’ll admit she treated me much more nicely then I expected from her,” 

“Better than my father?” Lotor questioned.

“Everyone treated me better than he did,” Lance scoffed as the elevator door opened. “Better then you did,” He made his way out and Lotor fell silent. 

He already knew the room number and so he walked in silently. If he knocked she wouldn’t answer and depending on who he was talking too, either Honerva or Haggar, then they would react nicely. “Excuse me?” He stepped into the room to see the women sitting on the edge of the bed looking through the window. 

She turned around slowly and looked Lance up and down before getting up and moving directly in front of him. He was smiling, not softly like Honerva did but menacingly in a way that made Lance step back. Haggar was in control. “I remember you,” She laughed. “You’re the one that my husband stole for their eyes and ears,” 

Lance smiled a bit awkwardly. “Yeah, something like that. I remember you too.” He did remember her. Honerva was somewhat kind but one of his earliest memories, when her personality had first faltered in front of him, was when she ordered for his hands and legs to be held to the floor while she grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. He remembered talking back to her, he could remember about what though, he just remembered that he was held in place unable to move as they hit his outstretched throat over and over again until Zarkon finally appeared. They had all gotten in trouble. It was one of those rare moments that made him relieved to see Zarkon. He also remembered that when he was put back into Lotors room to be watched, Lotor crawled under the bed with him at his mother’s exploding temper. 

“And what are you doing here exactly?” Haggar’s voice dragged Lance back to the hospital room. She moved back to her bed with Lance following after her. 

“We were hoping to see Honerva,” 

“Honerva…” The name was drawn out. She closed her eyes as if nostalgic and simply opened them back up as she stared at the ceiling. 

“Lotor,” Lance whispered while Haggar was distracted. “I give you permission,” 

“Afraid of her,” Lotor looked over between them. “This witch is not my mother,” 

“She’s part of her,” Lance whispered back. “Just talk to her,” 

“I have nothing to say to her,” Lotor yelled back which made Lance flinch. It garnered no reaction from her.

“I’ll go talk to the doctor,” Lance sighed as he moved away from the room and stepped back. 

“I’m assuming you didn’t garner much of a conversation from her.” Lance turned around at the source of the voice, Ryner. She was one of the top doctors here and close friends with Allura so by default knew Lance pretty well. Lance was also her patient for both mental and physical health for a while. Just like Pidge, she didn’t believe his eyes but she did decide that he knew how to control it rather well enough for him to be allowed to wander freely. 

“Definitely not,” Lance smiled at her. “But is she getting better?” 

“I’m afraid not,” She sighed. “Most patients with DID don’t have the ability to go back into one corresponding personality, we didn’t expect that, but it seems that after the traumatic accident she’s been through her personality has manly taken control with Haggar which is unhealthy. If Honerva truly is just a separate personality she isn’t speaking. It strange but Haggar seems to be more in control at the moment, which we are trying to help with considering her self-destructive tendencies as Haggar,”

Lance let out a long sigh. “I was really hoping to speak to Honerva too,” Something caught his attention. Something quick that made him turn towards the door. “A butterfly?” He laughed as he stepped forward. A pair of hands made their way to his eyes and Ryner laughed when Lance confusingly brought his hands up. 

“Last time you followed a butterfly that wasn’t there you managed to fracture your arm after walking into a pool and thinking that the ground was swallowing you,” 

“It’s not like that this time,” Lance laughed as he moved her hands from his eyes. It truly wasn’t. At that time, it was because the spiritual world and living got to close and his mind created a fake world for him to see in order to look through both. It only happened in extremely crowded places like this or schools anything where too many spirits and ghosts reached out to the living at once. The butterfly was still there flying in front of a door. “Who’s behind that door?” 

Ryner looks over and thinks for a bit before snapping her fingers. “Takashi Shirogane. If I’m not mistaken he’s an injured police officer,”

“Injured?” Lance looked over at the door a bit sadly. “By who,” 

“The Galra,” Ryner almost growled. “Those ruthless tyrants hurting innocent people. I wish they were nowhere knew our city,”

Lance groaned a bit in guilt but quickly looked back over at the door that the butterfly was still flying in front of. “Can I go in?” Lance asked, 

“I suppose,” She answered almost offhandedly. “He won’t make much of a conversation though,” 

Lance didn’t seem to be listening as he simply walked into the room. It was silent and when he walked in he saw flowers around his bed. Most dead and a few freshly cut. A few papers were scattered around as if someone left in a hurry but Lance only focused on the butterfly now neatly sitting on top of a majestic black lion’s nose. Lance froze a bit seeing the lion before a smile crept up on his face and he began hopping from one foot to another in excitement. “No way! We found them all!” He ran up next to the bed and saw the body laying down. His smile faltered a bit. 

He was expecting a complete stranger but he recognized this person. A scar running across his face and an arm missing. Black and white hair slightly longer then he remembered. “What are you doing here?” Lance looked over to see the man now see-through standing before the bed. 

“Oh my God,” Lance smiled. “Oh my God, it’s you!” Lance let out a happy smile. “I can’t believe the black lion was here the entire time!” 

“Black lion?” The man questioned. 

“Right, you can’t see her but she’s amazing and your guardian,” Lance looked back over at the body lying on the bed. “I knew you were in a coma! Didn’t I say he was?” He yelled at Lotor who wasn’t truly paying attention. 

“You said something along those lines,” He sighed in return. 

“If you’re in a coma how do you know Keith?!” The man was smiling a bit at his excitement and he opened his mouth to answer before Lance’s phone went off from inside his backpack. 

“Hold that thought,” Lance looked down at it to see Zarkon’s number. He never saved it for obvious reasons but he did already have it memorized. “Crap… Um hello?”

“Lance report back to Lotor’s room. Now.” The phone hung up and Lance found himself trying to figure out what he did wrong. He wouldn’t abruptly call him like that unless he needed something or if he was in trouble, especially with that voice. Lance suddenly felt a dread fill him and he assumed it was noticeable enough for the man to lose his smile and step forward. 

“You alright?” 

Lance shook his head. “I have to go… quickly,” He ran out saying a quick goodbye to Ryner and to the man now named Takashi. 

“Lance, think back,” Lotor yelled at him as they ran out of the hospital and towards Zarkon’s house. “Is there anything you would know of that would make him call you like that?” 

“No,” Lance yelled back almost desperately.

He was scared but more than anything he was scared of what would happen if he kept him waiting so he ignored anything else until he made it to the front of Zarkon’s house. He already knew how to get in and he tried to catch his breath as he quickly moved to Lotor’s room. Stepping inside it was just like he membered. He had spent a large majority of his time here when Zarkon had first gotten him. He was placed under Lotor’s watch which made him have to stay here. It was huge, enough room for many people but that Lotor had all to himself when he was living. One wall was mainly window but the curtains were always drawn so that darkness consumed it. Zarkon was sitting on the bed and Lance dropped his belongings next to the door out of sheer instinct to do so when entering this room. He moved in front of Zarkon and dropped to his knees. 

“You called?” 

“Stand up,” Zarkon sighed but Lance did as he was told and he dropped his head as Zarkon circled around him. “Now lay down on the bed and don’t move an inch,” Lance once more did as he was told. He lied on his back not moving an inch. “Now,” Lance felt a small cold blade make his way toward his neck. Pressing against it uncomfortably. “Would you mind telling me what you were doing at the hospital?” 

“I was visiting Honerva,” Lance closed his eyes and gripped onto the sheets as the blade seemed to press a bit harder against him. 

“Now why would you do that?” Zarkon smirked. 

“Blame it on me,” Lotor quickly shouted. “He can’t do anything to me,”

Lance hesitated but finally let out a small. “Lotor wanted to talk to his mom,” 

“His mom?” Zarkon laughed. “Since when had they been so close?”

“They weren’t he just wanted to see if she recognized him?”

“And did you get your answer?” 

“No she was still too out of it to even realize anything,” Lance let out. “She was still just Haggar,” 

Zarkon moved the knife from Lance’s throat. “Lotor you wouldn’t want to see your pet getting hurt, would you? After you died he was much more obedient, keep it that way.” Zarkon moved down and picked up Lance’s shirt to examine the Galra mark that was burned into his hip. “You wouldn’t want more pain now. You are valuable here don’t make me do something that might potentially damage you, got it?” 

“Got it,” Lance shakingly let out,

“When you go there I expect you to report to me first no matter the reason. We wouldn’t want her running her mouth after all.” He finally completely moved the knife away which made Lance relax a bit but not move. “I did call you here also to report something I want you to do. Rayan McNeil. He’s your next target. He owes me money and stole quintessence from one of my main shipmen, I need you take him out before he grows into an even bigger thorn in my side. Take your recruits, they could learn a few things from this,” 

“Yes sir, right away,” Lance whispered as he slid onto his feet. 

“Very well,” Zarkon looked back at him before making his way out. “I’ll give you more details tomorrow. I expect you to have you recruit ready by then,” And he made his way out. As soon as the door shut Lance sunk to the ground.

“I told you that was a bad idea!” Lotor scolded. Lance only looked down at the floor. “What are you not going to answer?” Lance made a small sound that made Lotor cock an eyebrow until it got louder and he realized what it was. Laughter. Lance now was cupping his stomach with his head pulled back. Laughing maniacally as tears streamed down his face. 

“That was terrifying!” He yelled completely falling to the floor. 

“Lance,” Lotor scolded. “Is this seriously funny to you?!”

“No like I said it was terrifying!” Lance rolled under the bed. He saw lines traced against the back of it. He remembered doing almost every single one of these. Under this bed was so calming. He took in a deep breath, held in, then let it go. Opening he found his smile still there but his tears had dried. He always came down here to calm himself down but now wasn’t one of those times. Instead, he reached out to the very front of the bed and pulled out a gun. He laid it by his side and kicked it out. 

“So you’re going to completely ignore my father?”

“The day I ignore him is the day I end up killed,” Lance felt himself shaking but brushed it off. “No, I have to do what he said, which means I don’t have time to be scared right now. I have to get my recruits ready and down in an hour so that I can decide who’s coming with me,” 

“Why not bring all of them?” Lotor sighed. “You only have four,”

“Way ahead of me,” Lance slid out from under the bed and moved over to his backpack he had left by the door and pulled on his Blue lion mask over his eyes. “But first we have to decide who’s going to be in charge under me!” Lance quickly got up and grabbed the gun. “This is going to be something amazing!” 

“It will indeed be something,” Lotor stared at him a bit as he happily began jogging out of the house and began paging the four recruits he kept. 

“Oh trust me Lotor! This is going to be amazing!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should clear up that Honerva/Haggar has split personalities. I don't know I just feel like I didn't do very well in clearing that up. Anyway hope you liked this chapter and sorry for the slightly abrupt end, I'm just so tired


	5. Crazy=Genius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: Crazy=Genius by Panic! At The Disco. 
> 
> This was supposed to way way longer but I hate long chapters so here you go. Plus only real character you know the are in this chapter is Lotor, Lance, and Keith.

Blue was pacing back and forth in the abandoned warehouse he had made all of them meet up at. He wasn’t doing it out of nervousness more so to distract his boredom. The three who had appeared relatively quickly were all sitting on the ground watching Blue as he impatiently walked in circles. After a small moment, Keith, dressed as Red, barged in, his breath heavy and he was loud enough to garner the attention of the others. 

“Finally,” Blue walked over to him and draped a hand over his shoulder. “Mind sharing with the class why you’re late?”

Keith looked over at him a bit in confusion but instead sank down to sit on the floor. “Sorry,” He said trying to catch his breath. “It was just a long day and I had classes and—,”

“Classes?” Blue looked down at him. “You take classes?” He began laughing which only caused Keith to grown. “Look at you, looking out for your future and shit. That makes one of us.” 

“Can I ask something?” The girl with blond hair asked as she stood up. 

“I see no reason why not.” They could practically hear the smile through Blue’s mask. 

“It’s dark out, why call us now? Like, you could have easily called us tomorrow,” The girl seemed to yawn and the other two stood up straighter as Blue got closer. 

“Excellent question!” Blue clapped his hands. “Tomorrow I will personally see what you are made of in our first mission that I will take all of you to, but I have to decide the leaders of said mission,” 

“Are you not going to lead us?” The one with a purple mask asked. 

“Yes of course but I don’t want to be distracted so one of you is going to lead the other three,” Blue looked between all of them and Keith finally stood up. “First though, let’s establish names. You don’t have to give real names but something for me to call you. Obviously, you can just call me Blue,” He pointed at the girl who seemed to stand up a bit straighter. She thought for a bit. 

“Um... N?” She answered. “It’s my initial. I just can’t seem to think of a better one.” She laughed a bit awkwardly. 

“Following her theme, you can just call me R,” The man with the purple mask answered. 

Blue nodded and looked over at the man with the cloak. “What about you?”

“How about….” He thought. “Champion?”

“Champion?” Blue scoffed. “As in The Champion, the cop who led the arrest of hundreds of us,” 

Keith eyed them both curiously. He hated hearing about this but it was no point saying something. If this guy wanted to parade around with the name that put Shiro in a coma then let him get himself in the same position, see if he cared. 

“Yeah… something like that,” The guy sounded fond of the name but shook his head. “Would it be too much?”

“I don’t think Zarkon would take kindly to that name,” Blue laughed.

“Alright...” He thought for a bit more until snapping his fingers. “What about Chip?”

“Chip?” 

“Yeah, it was like my nickname with my family when I was younger so I would be used to answering to it,” He explained. 

Blue paused for a bit before shrugging. “Alright Chip,” He said popping the P as he looked over at Keith. “And what about you?” 

“I’ll just stick with Red,” 

“Red it is then!” Blue stepped back before grabbing a ribbon from his back pocket. “Now that we have that settled we can start our exercise now,” 

“And what exactly is our exercise?” R asked. 

Blue began to tie the ribbon around his mask and over his eyes. “Well I want to see which one of you is the strongest and the only way to do that is to test you guys like this,” He reached over his back once more and pulled a gun out. He shot directly in front of him causing the others to jump, not that he could see them. “These are tranquilizers. Really powerful ones but if you get hit I assure you it’ll hurt like Hell. Now I will get more specifics later on but if I’m correct we’ll be hunting someone in a club and so I want to see which one of you is the strongest,” 

“Then why the blindfold?” Keith asked as he looked at the other three. 

“Whelp I want you to attack me.” He placed a hand on his hip as he continued to explain. “Whoever gets a hit in, will be one of my right hands but I’ve blinded myself just to make it a bit easier because let’s face it, you would never come close to me without this handicap.” Keith groaned quietly enough for Blue to not here him but Chip who was standing next to him looked over and chuckled a bit at it. “No guns because then that would be too easy! Alright, so you can begin…” He paused as he readied his stance and fired in the sky. “Now,” 

All of them seemed to hesitate for a second, almost to test the intentions of Blue but then N ruined that moment by throwing a knife directly in his direction. The knife was quickly caught and Blue shot in the direction from which it was thrown. N jumped out of the way but it managed to stick in her arm. “Ah son of a—!” her voice was loud in the beginning. The bullet had dug into her skin but not completely deep it only took a moment for that voice to soften and her stance faltered as she shook her head to keep her eyes open. The tranquilizer was working fast and she barely had time to process that before she fell. 

“Quick lesson!” Blue announced happily. “If you have the advantage of blindness from your opponent and you want to blow your cover by attacking move out of the way before they know where you are,” 

“N?!” that was R this time. As Blue moved his gun in the direction of him he was quick to shoot only for him to dodge out the way just in time. “Crap, crap, crap, crap!” he ran to his right trying to avoid how Blue followed his movements but he suddenly pulled his hand a bit further and R didn’t have time to move back before something hit his chest and he soon fell over too. 

“Second lesson!” Blue said as he moved out of the way from an attack Red had thrown. “Do not show a person which way you are walking by yelling, I knew which direction he was going and was able to predict where he was going to end up,”

Red and Chip were currently trying to get a single hit on Blue. Both unable to do that while simultaneously dodging the bullets being thrown their way. Blue seemed to throw them to the side whenever they got even close to attacking him. There was a small moment when Chip was fighting him from the front that his back was much less protected. Red took that opportunity. 

It was only a small moment as Blue had pushed Chip off of him, he knew where he had landed but he didn’t have time to shoot as he turned around and gripped onto the blade that was now attacking him. “Good! You’re learning! Play as dirty as you can, take those advantages. It doesn’t matter how you get it as long as you win!” Blue placed the gun directly on Red’s stomach and he, in turn, pulled away his blade and his body. He saw the slight red dripping from Blue’s hands and his blade, it had obviously cut him when he had pulled it back, but as he was moving back he stumbled and fell to the ground. Blue quickly jumped forward and sat on top of him. He pulled the trigger on his arm which caused Red to let out a hiss of pain but as Blue got up he let out the breath slowly and promptly passed out. 

Chip used the opportunity of Blue being seated to charge at him. The footsteps must have caught his attention because he quickly turned around and shot in the direction of the sound but Chip had moved away the moment Blue had turned. He had moved next to the other and he slashed to the side. Blue moved back almost tripping over a person lying there.

“The last survivor!” Blue laughed. Chip ran forward and stabbed directly next to Blue’s head moving back as he shot out another bullet. It was quick and Chip shouldn’t have noticed but he did. Blue had pulled the trigger and nothing came out. He was out of ammunition and Chip needed to use that opportunity to his advantage. As Blue quickly moved to his back to get ammunition Chip ran forward with his blade but he overestimated the time he had. Blue wasn’t reaching for more ammunition; he was reaching for a new gun so as he pulled it to the front he felt the small breeze in front of him as Chip bent down. He shot down and Chip let out a sharp yelp as it landed on his back. Blue let his guard down at that point and Chip had hoped for that because he used the small boost of energy he had left to quickly raise himself and slash his knife in front of him. It caught Blue’s thigh and he let out a yell as he moved back and stumbled onto the floor. He yanked off his blindfold to see Chip standing there, breathing heavily and the knife raised above his head. Blue was ready to shoot again until he let out a small breath and fell forward as the tranquilizer finally set in. 

* * *

Lance gripped onto his leg as he moved back. “You underestimated them,” Lotor laughed as he saw the way Lance gripped his bleeding leg. 

Lance scoffed as he pulled down the cloth around his nose and mouth. “Yeah right, I just let down my guard at the wrong time.” He hissed a bit as he pushed himself up. “So Chip is the strongest,” He looked down at his palm which had been slashed but had ceased bleeding. “Followed by Red,” 

Moving away from the passed-out bodies he scooted back and onto a small crate so he could examine his leg. “Maybe you should go to the doctor,” Lotor flouted over him as Lance pulled off his Blue lion mask covering his eyes. 

“Naw, I have some bandages in my pack,” As he said that he scooted himself with his good leg in arm’s length of his backpack and pulled out a couple bandages. Pulling up his pants he began to carefully clean and wrap the wound.

“At least it’s not deep enough to warrant stitches,” Lotor examined. Lance snorted at that and flinched when he pressed down to hard. 

“Still hurts,” Lance wined as he finished up his leg and began working on his hand. 

“You better hurry before they wake up,”

“Please,” Lance scoffed. “They’ll wake up with slight headaches in a couple of hours. I still have plenty of time,” When he finished with the wound on his hand, which wasn’t very deep, he stood up and tried to put as little pressure on his foot as possible. He walked over to the girl who was still lying on the ground and examined her arm where his bullet had hit. It wasn’t really a bullet more so a pellet of tranquilizer inside a shell that broke when hitting against something. It dug into skin though so he pulled out the small shell from her arm with some tweezers from the first aid kit, placed a cotton ball over the small bleeding wound and put some medical tape over it. 

“Can’t they do that themselves?” Lotor rolled his eyes. Lance got up and moved next to R who was the second one shot. He knew this because he remembered how they were placed and how were they fell. “Why are you wasting your time?” 

“Well, the longer you wait, the more dangerous it becomes,” Lance saw the small hole on the chest of his shirt and sure enough when he lifted his shirt there was the small bruised wound. “I just don’t want it to get unnecessarily bad. Besides, it’s the least I could do. I did shoot them after all,” Lance finished him off and moved over to Red. 

“What was the point in that exactly?” Lotor hovered over as he saw the way Lance’s hands shook a bit. “You could have easily just fought them off,” 

“It’s not just about fighting,” Lance sighed as he examined Red’s arm. “I want to see how good they are at taking advantage of a situation,” He finished up that Red’s arm and moved to Chip who was still lying on his stomach. 

“So this is your victor,” Lotor snorted a bit as Lance seemed to grow uncomfortable when he lifted his shirt to get to his back. “Not so menacing, is he?” 

“I thought Red was going to win,” Lance thought out loud. “He has that hot-headed attitude though so maybe that was it. He only got a circumstantial cut in though,”

“My bets were on this one,” Lotor smirked. Lance looked up at him in confusion. “Well, he’s the only one I couldn’t read. The only one who seemed out of place,”

“Chip is… weird. Like what kind of a name is Chip?” Lance scoffed. “They’re all practically spies,” Lance began lifting said person up until the mask seemed to fall off his face. He quickly pushed him back down and turned his head. 

“Why are you acting like that?” Lotor scorned. “You must be a little curious as to who he is,”

“I am but…” Lance gave a small glance at the light brown hair falling over his face. “They’re wearing masks for a reason. I wouldn’t want them finding out who I am,”

“So?” Lotor hovered around him. “Both of you are different. Stop with this golden rule of yours. This could be a beneficial advantage to your part,” 

“This isn’t about an advantage.” Lance began to tie the mask back onto his face and once he adjusted the mask began to drag him closer to Red. “I just feel like I have no right invading in on them,”

“They’re spies most likely here to gather information and to kill you.” Lotor crossed his arms. “They obviously don’t care about that,” 

“Well with their fighting ability I doubt they’ll be able to,” Lance moved over to N and began dragging her over to the two laying on the floor. “Besides,” he grunted as he finally dropped her. “They’re just doing what they think is right and if their identity is revealed then they’ll most likely be moved about,”

“Sounds like something that’s not ideal for them alone,” Lotor sat down. Lance only shook his head as he dropped R right next to the other three and moved over to his bag. 

“There used to be a time when you didn’t seem to focus only on yourself,”

“How is this about myself?” Lotor sulked as he crossed his arms. “I was killed if you hadn’t noticed; I’m just giving you advice on how to avoid that.”

“So it’s about me?” Lance scoffed as he moved back to the four bodies now holding some rope. “I find that hard to believe,” 

Lotor only rolled his eyes as a response and simply watched as Lance began to carefully pick each person up and tie their hands behind their back with the same rope. When had balanced them enough he tightened the rope so that all four pairs of hands were touching. 

“I’m hungry,” Lance sighed to himself as he moved back and let them slouch over each other. He knew this was going to happen but he ignored it and so he stayed in place hearing the screaming of ghosts in the distance. He shivered a bit as they grew louder because of the silent warehouse. 

“Put in headphones,” Lotor said. He was looking over at Lance with a more curious face despite knowing why he was like this. “You brought some, correct?” Lance nodded a bit as he rubbed his aching head. “Well put your mask back on and put the headphones in.” 

Lance looked up at Lotor in curiosity but he wasn’t looking at him. He was looking on the other far side wall. It was bare but Lotor seemed to be lost in thought or perhaps he could see through them. Lance didn’t pay much mind to it, instead, he took Lotor’s advice without a word. He tied the blue lion mask over his eyes first and tied the cloth around his neck. He didn’t pull it up over the rest of his face which caused Lotor to crinkle his eyebrows. “I’m going to get too hot,” Lance explained. “I mean don’t get me wrong I’m freaking sexy but I’m not trying to melt,” Lance smirked when Lotor let out a long groan. 

He hadn’t brought Pidge’s headphones, instead, he brought his own plain white ones. Placing both of them on each of his ears he sat down on the floor and began to hum along to the songs that were playing. Partly to distract himself from the other voices in the distance and partly because he needed to calm down enough to actually relax. 

* * *

Keith felt dizzy and his head was throbbing in pain. He had been woken up by slight shaking but he was still so tired. He glanced over to the side where N and R were currently trying to figure something out. His memories came back from that fight. He wanted to get up but he noticed his arms were tied behind his back and he pulled on them a bit of panic.

“Hey! No need to get your panties in a twist you’re hurting my wrist whenever you tug on that!” N scolded. 

“Now we only need to wait for one more to wake up,” R groaned as he seemed to sulk down. Keith glanced in front of him to see Blue with his legs crossed facing away from them. His head rested on his hands as they lay flat on the floor. 

“Can’t we just call Blue,” Keith sighed. 

“Tried,” N explained. “He can’t hear us,” 

Blue was singing and his foot seemed to sway to the music loud enough to be heard even to him. “You gotta dig a little deeper. Don't have far to go. You gotta dig a little deeper. Tell the people Mama told you so. Can't tell you what you'll find. Maybe love or grant you a piece of mind. Dig a little deeper and you'll know!” He had a nice voice compared to his usually muffled voice behind the cloth. 

Keith scoffed. “Princess and the frog?” 

“Oh god you have no idea,” R sighed. “He’s been singing them for a while now,”

“All he’s been singing is Disney songs,” N sighed. 

Then there was another stir as all of their wrists were tugged on once again. “What the—,” Chip seemed to tense up a bit. 

“Calm down.” Keith turned his head a bit to face Chip. “Guess we’re all awake,” Keith turned back forward and noticed Blue had stopped singing. He had turned his head all the way back so that it was now looking at them backward. He had his mask on over half his face and Keith tried to focus on the bottom half of his exposed face but his eyes were still blurry and he could only make out the clearly darker skin. 

“Look who’s finally awake!” He placed the cloth back over his face which caused Keith to grown a bit in irritation. Blue turned so he was lying on his stomach and his feet hovering over him.

“Why are we tied up?” N sighed as he jerked her head to the side as a mean to get her hair out from in front of her. 

“So you won’t run off duh,” Blue pulled off his headphones and stood up with a stretch. “Only two of you managed to actually injure me. Red and Chip,” 

“So are we both in charge,” Chip began as he looked at Red. 

“Nope,” Blue placed his hands on his hips. “One was circumstantial. Red pulled out his blade that I had grabbed and it just so happened to cut me in the process. It wasn’t meaningful so Chip you win!” 

Keith groaned a bit. He really wanted to win just because it gave him an advantage but he was also happy that he didn’t have to lead them. He was never good at giving orders. “Awesome, now could you untie us,” Keith sighed a bit as his shoulders began to feel stiffer. He looked up when Blue hadn’t answered. He was just standing there with a small tilt of his head. 

“I don’t know…” Blue twirled around. “I’m gonna go home. I’m like super tired,” 

“Wait, you can’t just leave us here!” R shouted as he pulled up. 

“I can and I will,” Blue laughed. “Next step is to work as a team, figure out how you’re going to get out of this together,” Blue gave a wave as he was halfway out the door. “I expect to see you guys all here at the same time tomorrow! Wear something nice! Let’s hope you’re still not tied up,” And with that, he left the four behind. 

“Oh fucking great!” Keith shouted in irritation. “He took my dagger and everything!”

“Mines in my coat,” Chip looked over from across the room. “Which is now all the way over there,” 

“Oh god,” N sighed. “Would we be able to even go over there?” 

“We don’t even know if he didn’t take that blade,” R noted. “Let’s figure something else out,” 

A small moment of silence passed and Chip was looking back at the rope as if to figure out how to work this out. “Okay, so this is just one long piece of rope tied up to keep us stuck,”

“Thank you captain obvious,” Keith groaned as he pulled on the rope a bit more. “Any actual plan?”

“Stop pulling on it you’re only going to make it tighter!” Chip huffed in frustration. “And as a matter of fact, I do. N, we are going to go directly behind you and you try to unknot the knot holding the piece of rope into a circle loose alright?”

“Alright sure,” She grunted as they began pushing up closer to each other. Chip managed to guide N to grab the knot and she slowly began to untie it. With a few grunts, she picked at the knot along the edge trying to loosen it. 

“Are you done?” Keith hissed out a bit. 

“Calm down Red,” R would have glared at him if it wasn’t for his mask. 

“What the hell kind of knot did he fucking tie!?” She screamed out in irritation. 

“Hey, all of you calm down!” Chip stomped his foot on the floor. “Just calm down, don’t get frustrated, and be patient,”

“You sound like my brother,” Keith sulked. 

“Well, I get around,” He laughed. 

“I got it!” N yelled as she straightened up in delight. 

“Okay now Red come closer and let me untie your hands,” Chip pushed himself directly behind his back. 

“How come he gets to get untied first,” R dropped his head. 

“Because he’s at the end of the rope,” Chip grunted, struggling to undo the knot. “Just a little more…” It took more than a little time. Keith would flinch back whenever he accidentally scratched his wrist instead of the rope and he would quickly apologize but it still made his temper grow. Turns out there were two knots keeping their hands in place and when this was discovered they all slouched a bit more. Groaning out in irritation as Chip began working on the next one. 

When it was finally undone Keith quickly got up and stretched his joints. “Oh finally,”

“Okay now un-tie us,” R yelled up at him. 

“Uh yeah. No,” Keith laughed as he ran over to the coat that was Chips. 

“What the hell!”

“Calm down, I’ll cut you out,” Keith smiled when he found the blade still in the coat. “I’m horrible at untying,” 

“Awesome just get us out of here,” N almost desperately scolded. 

Keith moved back over to them and began to cut the rope. All of them got up and stretched at that, relieved to finally be free. They all almost immediately announced their departure and left. Keith was happy to be out of their until he noticed the small pain in his arm. He lifted up his sleeve to see right, where he had been shot, was now a rather messy bandage over it. He yanked it off and examined the purple bruising around the shallow hole in his arm. He hissed a bit as he continued walking to a secluded place where he was able to take off his mask and change into his actual clothes. Once he finished he began to walk away from the place and checked his phone for the time. It was almost 1:30 in the morning and Keith noticed how silent the streets were then. 

He walked and walked until he was in the barren roads surrounded by trees. He really needed internet because he had promised Pidge to finish a rough draft of his part of their project today and send it to her. His apartment didn’t have internet; it was something that he could get for free at the right time and he couldn’t afford to waste his money on something like that when he had better things to waste his money on. He doubted any place that gave free Wi-Fi was opened right now but he really needed to get this done and that was when he found himself here. 

In this road surrounded by trees. A small trail not noticeable unless you were looking for it that leads to a two-story wide house. Keith had no idea why he ended up going here but his house was much further and didn’t have internet. If he went to Pidge’s, he would probably wake up Pidge’s family and he was not ready to deal with an angry Pidge. He didn’t really know were Hunk lived and the hospital that Shiro was in, although it had internet, it didn’t allow visitors in this late. Lance was the only one who he knew had internet and knew he had no family to wake up. That’s maybe why he found himself in front of this giant house. He knocked loud enough to wake anyone up from inside. A moment passed and he heard shuffling but no direct walking so he made another loud knock and this time he heard more shuffling and as footsteps got louder he heard an argument from the other end of the door.

“I’m gonna get the damn door!” Lance, it was clearly his voice but he never heard a voice speak back before a response came out. “Because you’re just overreacting!” the door flew open and Keith froze as he saw Lance flinch a bit back when he noticed it was him. “Keith? What are you doing here so late?” 

“Well…” Keith dragged a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry if this makes me sound horrible but I really need to use your internet. Every place I usually go to is closed and I don’t want to wake up Pidge—,”

“Oh, that’s a horrible idea!” Lance laughed. “That little gremlin is evil when it comes to her sleep.” Keith finally noticed that he was only wearing some blue and gold robes and some small lion slippers. “You’re welcome here though,” Lance stepped to the side and Keith stepped inside. The door shut behind him and Keith swung his book bag which had all his supplies in there already. He was called to Blue directly after class so he never really had time to go back and drop his stuff off at his apartment. He pulled out the laptop given to him by the school and moved it in front of him. 

“Uh, could you-?” 

Lance snatched it from him and typed in his password for the internet before handing it back. “There you go.” Lance yawned as he passed it back. “You sure you don’t just want to go home and sleep?” 

“Naw,” Keith yawned as well as he dropped himself on the couch. “I have to get this done anyways. Can I just crash on your couch?”

Lance seemed shocked at that answer and looked over at the wall in confusion. “Ideas?” He asked the wall and Keith looked over at the far wall and Lance before focusing back on Lance who was talking to himself. “Well, I don’t know… And if you’re just over-exaggerating? … He literally just told you what he wanted… Yes, I’ll make sure,” 

Lance caught a glimpse of Keith who was simply staring at him with no clear expression. “You don’t have to ask an invisible force to tell you what to do. This is your house after all,” Keith shrugged as he looked back over at his laptop. “But if it makes you feel more comfortable I won’t judge,” 

A small moment passed where Lance just stared at him in confusion before chuckling a bit and moving over to the drawer next his room and pulled something out. He moved over to the back of the couch and slunk his body back onto it. He dangled the key he had grabbed in front of Keith’s eyes. “You’re really weird.” He dropped the key into Keith’s open hands. “But I like you. Any friend of Pidge is a friend of mine,”

“Is this…” Keith looked down at his hands. 

“It’s a key to my place,” Lance shrugged as he moved back again. “Pidge still hasn’t gotten her privileges back,”

“What exactly did she do?” Keith chuckled. 

“She completely wrecked my old house,” Lance crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. “It doesn’t matter, but if this is gonna be a habit I’d prefer not to be woken up,” 

“Lance I can’t take this.” Keith began to pass it back. 

“I insist,” Lance pushed it back. “I’m going to sleep soon. Once you’re done there’s a room right here,” He moved over to the hallway and pointed at the door to his left. “You can sleep there,”

Keith looked over at him and smirked a bit. “I see you got rid of your T.V.” 

Lance shrugged. “Things come and go. Part of life,” He turned on his heal and began walking down the hallway. “Night Keith,” He saluted with two fingers and began climbing the stairs to his room. 

Keith looked down at his hand that was still gripping onto the key of the house, with a small smile. The last time he was handed a key was Shiro giving him a copy of his key to his place. It was such a foggy memory; one he hadn’t thought in a while. Shiro... he wondered when he was going to wake up. He shook his head clear and began browsing his computer for the project he needed to finish not even remembering to say thank you to the boy who was already placing headphones over his ear to block out the voices only he heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Lance was singing dig a little deeper by princess and the frog. I was a bit tipsy when I wrote that part. Sorry if this chapter ended a bit out of nowhere it was getting too long and I wanted to cut it short without making you guys wait so long. Can any of you guess the other three people now because they are all other character from Voltron. If you're an olden day Voltron fan you'll automatically know who Chip is but I have no clue when I'll actually confirm anything. Thanks for reading!


	6. Weak

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter Weak by AJR. Amazing band by the way love them!
> 
> Honestly curse America for their hundreds of standardized tests. ACT is gonna kill me but hey I'm trying my hardest. Pray for my scores... Sorry for the slightly longer wait then usual.

Lance woke up to nothing in particular. He looked over at his clock to see it blazing numbers in his face. The headphones had already turned off and so he heard the wailing of ghosts outside his house. He had about an hour until his alarm clock went off for his set alarm but he knew once he woke up he needed to ware himself down enough to fall asleep again or take some pills but he really hated doing that. He stretched and looked around to see that Lotor wasn’t here. It was strange considering he always woke up to him by his bedside or on the other side of the room but he was always in the room when he woke up. 

He stretched out his body and rubbed his eyes when he relaxed a bit. Lotor not being here put him a little uneasy but it had happened before so he didn’t want to think too much of it. He stood up and almost immediately fell back onto his bed as pain shot through his leg. It was worse than yesterday to his dismay. He stressing out too much which brought about bad memories. He pulled open his draw next to his bed where a pack of cigarettes was sitting. Cigarettes were littered everywhere about his house but he never really used them. He tried not to, he really wanted to quit after all but he couldn’t. The pain just settled in a way that didn’t help him at the moment. He remembered the first time he had tried one. He had a coughing fit and Lotor made fun of him as he smoked his own right next to him. It was after they were both trained on the same day back when Lotor was alive. They had both been beaten horribly and Lotor used cigarettes to calm him down after a bad beating like this and Lance had just tagged along because Lotor did seem to relax after smoking one or two and he wanted to feel that same way. 

He regretted that decision. It had become a habit that after a fight whether good or bad, whether he won or lost, he would light one with Lotor and smoke to relax. If he could take it back, he would but he had become addicted sure enough. Allura hated it and was helping him control it but it wasn’t until he met Pidge and Hunk that he actually started making an effort to release tension other ways. Lotor always seemed to pass on his bad habit to him when he was alive. He was just a kid after all so he blamed it on his willingness to just calm himself down after what he was forced into. 

He shook his head to not think about it. That only brought about more tension. He finally gave in to his urges however by lighting the cigarette. He closed his eyes as he relaxed and took a long drag of it. He fell back on his bed as he opened his eyes again and held the smoke in his mouth. His eyes had adjusted to the slight darkness in his room and he watched as he exhaled and saw the smoke swirling to the ceiling. He placed it in-between his lips and promptly allowed himself to stand up with the slight pain escalating up his leg. 

He limped over to this closet and changed into something more too be worn if he went out. He moved from the closet to the door stretching and not letting go of the cigarette between his lips. He made his way out of the room and moved over to the bathroom. This was when he finally pushed the cigarette against the sink and unlit it. He sighed for the simple fact that he had to resort to something so toxic as a cigarette so early in the morning. He looked at himself in the mirror for a bit pulling down on his cheek. He brushed his teeth and once he was done splashed his face with water before beginning to clean it. He dried himself off with a towel and looked in the mirror once more. He had gotten a pretty decent amount of sleep so he winked at his reflection shooting it a finger gun before proceeding to cheerfully make his way into the kitchen. He was limping a bit but it was easy to cover up.

He just really wanted something simple to eat this morning but he jumped as he made his way into the living room and not only saw Lotor but the man named Takashi he had met in the hospital that was in possession of the black lion. He was confused for a moment before he rushed over to the couch where they were both standing and looked over at the edge. There he saw Keith with a blanket over his body and his laptop still open as it was laying on his stomach. 

“I told him to sleep in the room,” Lance chuckled at the man. He picked up Keith’s laptop from his chest, closed it, and set it down on the ground. “Takashi, right?” 

He was still slightly see-through but Lance noticed it was much more transparent than last time. The man looked up from the fond look he was giving Keith and seemingly glared at Lance. “Shiro is fine,”

“Shiro,” Lance hummed a bit taken aback as he looked back down at Keith. “And what about you Lotor? What’s your excuse for coming down here?” 

“To make sure he doesn’t do anything that would potentially put you in danger,” Lotor was sitting on the floor resting his chin on his pulled-up knees. 

Lance sighed with a roll of his eyes about to argue when he noticed Shiro was still glaring at him. He cleared his throat and smiled at him a bit. He was intimidating which was surprising to him, the only other person that could make him shrink into his own skin like this was Zarkon. He was so nice at the hospital though. “Did I do something to get you angry?” Lance cautiously approached. 

“Angry…” He seemed to ponder on the word a bit of a mockery in his voice. “I thought you were better than this,” Shiro crossed his arms which caused Lance to flinch a bit at the movement. 

“Better than what?” He shrugged. 

“This,” Shiro outstretched his arms and Lotor looked over at Shiro in confusion just as Lance did. 

“Him?” Lance questioned as he looked at Keith. “He just came over?” he seemed unsure of his own answer

“So you slept with him?!” Lotor let out a quick and loud ‘Pft’ and began laughing hysterically, not that Shiro could hear, as Lance’s face turned a bright pink as he began flailing his arms in front of him. 

“Wow! Wait! Hold on just a minute, where did you- Why did you-!” Lance stumbled a bit with his words but calmed himself down when he heard Keith groan a bit. Shiro seemed to look at him with caution and Lance only motioned for him to follow him. Lotor was still laughing on the floor trying to calm himself down but looking over at the two and bursting out into laughter all over again. Lance groaned and moved to the kitchen where he sat down at the table and faced Shiro who was standing in front of him now. “You’re limping,” Shiro noticed. 

“Yeah,” Lance bent his leg a bit awkwardly. “I got hurt but um I- we really didn’t do anything,” 

Shiro squinted his eyes as if trying to figure out whether he was lying or not. “Then what was he doing here?”

“I don’t know,” Lance brought his hand to the back of his head and began twirling a small piece of hair between his finger. “He wanted to use my internet for a project or something,”

Shiro hummed examining the way Lance presented himself. And from one moment to the next Shiro’s scary intimidating glare turn soft and he smiled at him. “Alright, I believe you,” 

Lance blinked in disbelief, dropping his hand from his head. “Just like that?” 

“I’ve been interrogating people for years now I can tell when someone’s telling the truth,” Shiro smiled at him. Lance wasn’t used to that, no one would blindly trust him like that without first laying a finger on him, not that they could. Even so, it made Lance smile a bit. “As long as he’s here strictly for that, then I’m fine with it. Sorry, for yelling at you earlier,” 

Lance gave him a curious look. “We barely met like two days ago why would you think we… you know,” He cleared his throat and Shiro seemed to laugh at his blush which only made him more flustered. 

“He gets stressed easily. Sex is a stress reliever. He’s been really stressed recently,” Shiro shrugged and looked back over in the direction of Keith. “It wouldn’t be the first time he tries to...,” he cleared his throat and smiled a bit awkwardly. “Clear his mind,” Lance got uncomfortable. He shifted his body in the chair before casually jumping off and wincing at the pain that shot up his leg. Shiro seemed concerned and held up his hands as if he could catch him if he fell. “You okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine,” Lance smiled at him. He walked over to his counter where he began brewing some coffee. He didn’t look back over at him but he still was curious. “So does he usually do stuff like that? I mean you said it like he’s done it before… you sounded really mad,” 

“Yeah, don’t ask me about that,” Shiro chuckled awkwardly but Lance knew he just didn’t want to speak of Keith when he wasn’t there which he could respect.

“I’m addicted to some stuff too. Pidge, Hunk, and Allura help though…Coran’s amazing at it,” Lance turned around to look at Shiro with a small smile. “I wish I had someone looking after me like that,” 

“I don’t know if it’s an addiction but I’m not with him at all times,” Shiro perked up a bit and followed Lance with eyes as he hopped onto the cabinet. “Do you know why I can’t control when I come to Keith or go back to the hospital? You seem to know a lot about this kind of thing,”

Lance smiled at the praise but hummed in thought. “Honestly, no. I’ve only met one other person from being in a coma and that was Allura. I knew her before and she has a strong sense of the spirit world. You do too, in a sense. She remembered when she woke up the time when she was asleep but I don’t know if you will,” Shiro was looking back down at the ground. 

“Do you know when-if I’ll wake up?” 

Lance shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry. You’re transparent which made it clear that you don’t belong in the spirit world. The clearer you get the less likely you are to wake up and if it ever gets to that I promise I’ll try to help you in any way I can,”

“Are you doing this for Keith?” Shiro seemed genuinely curious which cause Lance to snort a bit. 

“No, not really,” Lance poured himself a cup of his almost forgotten coffee and moved back over to the table. “I’ve only known him for a like two days but my grandma used to always tell me ‘Before the living help the dead because they have no one else to speak for them,’ Even though you’re not dead I think that applies to you too,’”

“She sounds nice,” He smiled. 

“She was,” He took a sip from his cup closing his eyes in the process and when he opened them back up to set his cup down Shiro was gone. Lance sighed a bit and blew on his coffee. 

“Are you just going to make promises like that?” Lotor made Lance jump a bit dropping some coffee on his hands and burning him a bit. 

“Jesus, don’t do that to me,”

“You still have that mission at night,” Lotor sighed as he hovered over Lance. “You should probably go back to sleep,” 

“Can’t,”

“And why not?” 

Lance lifted his cup. “I already made coffee,” 

Lotor rolled his eyes. “Why were you talking to that coma patient like he was your friend,”

“He has the black lion,” Lance said as he set his cup down. “If he disappears who knows how long it’ll take till we find a new paladin,”

“The black lion,” Lotor hummed. “Only with their protection will you be able to defeat my father?” 

“Something like that,” Lance leaned his head against his hand. “They block out his ability to see the future and protect us. I still haven’t told Allura about our revelation though,”

“Who are you talking too?” Keith stumbled in with droopy eyes and Lance smiled as he moved back to pour another cup of coffee. 

“Just someone you can’t see,” Lance said handing over the cup. “Did you get your stuff done?” 

“My stuff done…” Keith seemed to contemplate it before snapping his fingers. “Oh yeah, right on time too,” He took a sip of his coffee and Lance visibly grimaced. 

“Plain black coffee?” He lifted an eyebrow. “You really are fucking weird,”

“Uh rude and I can’t stand sweet things,”

“I take offense to that,” Lance gasped. “I am amazing,” 

Keith was still for a moment before rolling his eyes. “And you call me weird,” He took a long sip of his drink before setting it down. “When I got here did I say anything to you?”

“No, we did not have sex,” 

Keith was in the middle of taking a sip of his drink when he suddenly blew into his cup of coffee and began having a coughing fit. “Dude we barely just met!”

“I know but you look like the type who just gets passed out drunk or high or something and completely forgets the day before,” Lance laughed and Keith seemed to fold and unfold his hands. 

“I do not do that!” Keith yelled. “I know exactly why I came here; to finish my project,”

“But you wanted confirmation?” Lance offered with a tilt of his head. “Are you addicted to sex?”

“Dude!” Keith slammed his cup down. “No I am not and even if I was we’re not close enough for you to be asking me those types of questions!” 

“Wow don’t get so defensive,” Lance laughed. “I’m addicted to nicotine,”

“Okay one I’m not addicted to anything and secondly cigarettes are a common addiction just quit if you want,”

“I’m trying mister edge lord,” Keith glared at him but Lance only crossed his arms. “It’s a lot harder than it looks. I’m in rehab though,” And he was for a short period under the guidance of Coran who helped him a lot. 

“Rehab?” Keith scoffed. “For cigarettes?” 

“Oh no, for Quintessence!” Lance said too cheerfully for those words. 

Keith’s once-angry expression dropped and morphed into shock. “Quintessence?” 

“Yup,” 

“As in that drug that only Zarkon sells?” Keith said tasting the foul words in his mouth. “The one that supposedly makes you young forever. That Quintessence?” 

“No Keith, the other Quintessence that you buy from the girl scouts,” Lance rolled his eyes at his own sarcastic remark. 

“That’s like the most expensive and addictive drug!” Keith was standing now slightly in anger and slightly in concern. 

“I know... but, oh God did if give you the best high,” Lance bit onto the tip of his finger just thinking about it. “It numbed your whole body and made you feel so amazing. Almost like you were flying… until it wore off. Then you just felt like complete and utter crap,” 

“Lance…” Keith didn’t get very far when they heard the alarm from upstairs go off. 

“Oh! That’s my alarm to get ready, you should probably go to your own house and get ready too,” Lance threw him some keys that were hanging from the other end of the hallway to Keith. “You can use my bike if you want. Obviously, I can’t use it right now,”

“First you give me your house key and you’re seriously giving me the keys to your motorcycle?”

“Yeah why not,” Lance shrugged.

“You can’t just trust people so easily,”

“Yeah but you can’t just block them out,” Lance laughed and Keith fidgeted with the keys a bit more before throwing them back. 

“I don’t need your bike,” Keith sighed placing a hand on his hip. “If Hunk’s just going to come over and pick you up then I might as well just catch a ride with him and Pidge,” 

Lance lifted an eyebrow before shaking his head and throwing the keys to the side. “You are a sad, strange little man…And you have my pity,” 

“Please do not quote Buzz Lightyear around me ever again,” 

Lance laughed a bit. “Says the one who actually got it!”

“Whatever,” They disputed for a bit longer with Lance giving Keith an extra toothbrush and letting him grab some random clothes from his closet to wear. 

“I have one last thing to add to our previous conversation,” Lance smiled and stood directly in front of him. “Promise you won’t have sex all willy-nilly,” 

“Oh my God, not this again!” Keith tossed his hands in the air. Lance cupped Keith's face and began nodding it. 

“Yes Lance, of course, I’ll make that promise after all you are extremely awesome and handsome,” Lance said to him mimicking as if Keith was speaking. He in turn just smacked his hands away. “Why thank you, Keith. There, the promise has been sealed!” Lance declared

“I’m not even fucking addicted to it!” Keith crossed his arms. 

“Then it’ll be easy keeping this promise!” 

“Fine but if and only if you also agree not to use that shit anymore,” He honestly just kind of wanted to get back at him but at the same time he really didn’t want to know anybody who used that. 

Lance seemed to smile at that his eyes crinkling up and he saluted. “As long as your safe with your shit, I’ll be safe with mine,”

“So that’s a promise?” 

“Yup,” Lance popped the P and fell back on the couch both of them sitting in fitting silence as they waited for Pidge and Hunk to arrive. It didn’t take them very long but Lance jumped a bit when he saw Hunk hovering over him. “Jesus big guy, give me a heart attack,”

“Did you seriously not hear us come in?” Hunk laughed.

“No…leave me alone. I kinda zoned out,”

“Uh why the hell is Keith here,” Pidge placed her hands on her hips and glared at Keith playfully as she began moving around him in circles. “Are you trying to deflower our goofball of a friend,”

“Hey, I’m not a goofball!” Lance argued. 

“What is with you people and sex? I just came here to use his internet,” Keith sighed and Pidge only hummed a bit before catching her eye on something around his hand. 

“Wow, wow, wait. What the fuck is this?” Pidge picked it out a key from his hand. 

“Is that--?” Hunk sounded like he was about to laugh.

“It’s a fucking key to his house, isn’t it?” 

“Well if he’s gonna make this routine I don’t want to be woken up by someone asking for my internet,” Lance defended. 

“Okay, screw him for a second,” Pidge said making Keith let out a small gasp. “Why the fuck haven’t I gotten mine back?!” 

Lance’s face dropped to a neutral expression and stared at her as if she knew why. “Well you did completely trash his old house,” Hunk laughed. 

“So? He was out of town and he said I could have a party!” Pidge defended and Keith just flickered between the three talking.

“Yes, you could throw a party, which meant you would be the one to watch everyone else and make sure things didn’t go out of hand. Which also meant that once it was over you would clean up,” Lance explained. “Now what happened instead? I had two thousand dollars’ worth of my stuff stolen, another thousand dollars’ worth of stuff was broken and I not only had to bail you out of jail but like five other people,”

“I was not in jail; I was in holding.” Pidge crossed her arms. “Besides you’re acting like you couldn’t afford it,” 

“It’s not about me affording it, it’s about you not respecting my stuff.” Lance pouted as he turned his head. 

Keith let out a snicker. “Wait, that party like a year ago? The one that you dragged me to and I got super drunk,”

“Exactly wasn’t it awesome!” Pidge encouraged. 

“Wait you were there?” Hunk laughed. 

“Yeah, I think so…” He thought for a bit. “The one where you started setting off firecrackers or something?” 

“Yes! Oh my God!” Hunk grabbed his stomach and began laughing even wilder. Lance let out a horrid gasp. 

“You lit firecrackers inside my house!” 

“Listen I was just--,” 

“Ba!” Lance interrupted her by slamming his thumb into his middle finger mimicking a mouth with his hand. “I don’t need your excuses, I like this house better anyways,” He crossed his arms and began walking off with the others following after him. 

“Wait you moved?” Keith stared at her.

“Yeah I still don’t see why he had to though,” Pidge rolled her eyes. “You could have easily replaced everything,”

“It’s not about that it’s about too many people knowing where I live,” Lance pouted as Hunk opened the door to his car. 

“What the shadow people going to follow you back,” Pidge mocked causing Hunk to roll his eyes. 

“Is it in your head or is something really following you?” Keith asked. 

Lance sent him a small glance before shrugging opting for the easier way out of this conversation. “I think it’s in my head,”

“Well it doesn’t matter, let’s just go,” Pidge sulked into her seat. “Will I ever get my key back?”

“Yeah,” Lance said happily. “But I’m never letting you house sit again,” 

“Fair enough,” Pidge laughed. 

They drove off with little concern over the conversational topic at hand. They switched between topics and laughed at the others responses. It didn’t take long before they reached the school soon enough though and Lance began walking them to the door trying to hold on to the conversation before he had to delve back into Zarkons world. 

He had to say his goodbye however and he watched as they all entered the building with a bit of sadness. He turned on his heel with a small sigh and began walking off as the ghost called him back trying to drive him towards the school

* * *

Keith didn’t mind school. It usually just helped him relax and focus on one thing at a time. It helped him keep things in order; now was not one of those times. He had two enigmas’ in his mind. Lance and Blue. They were so different yet they left a horrible taste in his mouth. Both of them were so joyful and yet one seemed so trusting. He didn’t like that about Lance. Not that he trusted him but the fact that he knew he acted like this around strangers. It was dangerous and he hated it. Maybe Blue was like that. They had slightly the same personality. 

He dragged it on. His thoughts on both until the bell rang and he trailed the hallways not really paying attention. This was a horribly slow day. He was kind of glad that he didn’t have to deal with Blue right now but he knew that he would soon have to leave school and make his way back there. 

It happened as soon as his last class ended, he got a warning from a pager that was given to him by another Galra. They needed to meet up in the same place he left them tied up to each other. 

“Is that a pager?” He lifted his head to see Hunk and Pidge walking over to him in the practically crowded hallway. Pidge was chuckling as she watched Keith roll his eyes and pocket the pager. 

“You realize only drug dealers have stuff like that,” Hunk laughed as well. “Or like really old people,”

“Keith I am ashamed are you stuck in the past,” Pidge gasped with a smirk on her face. “Do you even have a cell phone?”

“Yes,” Keith answered defensively as he brought it out. 

“You know what that means,” Hunk smiled at Pidge who nodded in return. 

“Drug dealer,” She confirmed. They high-fived and Keith only sighed. “So you want to come with us to The Castle and get some food?” 

“Actually I’m kind of busy,” Keith smiled awkwardly. 

“Busy? Busy with what?” Hunk wondered. 

“Yeah you literally have no other friends,” Pidge remarked. 

“Shut up I’m just busy okay?” He gripped the strap of his book bag and sighed again. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow okay, but right now I just really have to go,” Both of them watched in a bit of curiosity as Keith made his way off. Most of his stuff was still in his pack but he remembered Blue saying something about dressing fancy. He didn’t have time to think of that right now. He found a secluded place to change and put on his mask and made his way out.

He actually still had time to kill but the quicker he got this done the quicker he could just go home. He had trouble remembering where it was but when he ultimately found it only Chip was there sitting cross-legged on the floor. 

“Oh, I kind of expected you to be last,” he laughed. “You were kind of late last time too,”

Keith walked over and sat next to him. Chip following his movements and seemed to tilt his head a bit as he continued to stare at Keith. “I had time to come a bit earlier the usual,” He answered. “You really think you’ll be able to lead us through a mission like this?” 

“Of course,” He said with a bit with dejection. “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“You remind me of someone I met a little while ago,” He admitted. “So happy and go lucky,”

“Do I need permission to be happy Red?” Chip laughed and Keith only closed his eyes as he tried to focus on something else. 

“Yes but not from me,” He sighed and looked over at Chip. “Whatever you’re playing at you need to stop. At least face it with another attitude… it makes me feel like even someone so genuine could fake it,”

“Who says I’m faking it?” Chip quested. 

“I hope you’re faking it,” Keith strained, “Because then that’ll just make you another monster,” They both hesitated. Both equally unsure of what to say but that was quickly pushed aside when R and N walked in on them. They opted to stand up behind them. Not much of a conversation lifted they all just sat there waiting for Blue to show up. 

They all were caught off guard when they heard the screeching of tires just outside. They glanced at each other unsure of whether to go investigate or stay put until they heard Blue shout from outside. “Hurry up Nerds! We don’t get all day!” Keith groaned a bit but picked himself up and began walking out. “You took so long I was beginning to think you never untied yourselves,” They all saw Blues head leaning out of the open driver’s window as he watched them stand in awe at his car. “Isn’t she a beauty?” he hopped out and twirled the keys for a while before tossing them to Chip who desperately tried to get a good grip on them. “I’m assuming you can drive,” 

“Wait I’m driving?” Chip sounded excited yet concerned at the same time. 

“Duh,” He stepped on the hood of the car and made his way to the other side of it. Opening the door on the passenger side. “I’m not very well behind the wheel, besides, I prefer to be driven places,” He sat down and Chip eagerly went to the driver’s side. 

Keith, N, and R looked at each other for a bit before cramping in the back. “So what exactly are we doing?” N asked as she was pushed in the middle. 

“Well my dear fledgling,” Blue was typing something on his phone and he placed it in the cup holder when he was done. It let out a robotic voice telling them to continue straight. Directions obviously but Keith tried to look at his phone for something different but to no avail. “I had a small little meet and greet with Zarkon and he wants us to go after someone,” He directed Chip to start driving and he followed with a quick turn towards the main road and began following the directions given. 

“As in kill?” Keith asked cautiously. 

“No Red as in have a picnic with and exchange phone numbers.” Keith wished he could see Blues face when he gave that sarcastic answer but instead he only settled into his seat. He reminded him a lot of Lance. “His name is Rayan McNeil and he stole quintessence and money from one of our shipmen,” 

“Can’t we just get it back?” Keith argued. He really didn’t want to kill anyone. 

“Yes of course! Why haven’t I thought of that? While we’re at it let’s just throw our dignity out the window.” He slammed his legs on the top of the glove compartment before throwing back a piece of paper that R managed to catch. “If we just let him walk around stealing our supplies then we’ll be allowing others to take from us,” 

“Is this how he looks?” R asked still examining the picture that was thrown at him. 

“Yup, I used to know him,” Blue sighed. “Little asshole was just a roach hiding behind his slight success with our products,” 

“Wow you hold a grudge against him or something?” R passed the picture to the two next to him. 

“Let’s just say that I’ll be glad he’s gone,” He sunk into his seat and they sat in silence. Keith noticed how he acted slightly like a child. Lance did that as well, granted, so did Hunk and Pidge. Many people did, nothing that could be used to figure out who he was. Soon enough into his thinking, he felt the car stop as the phone announced their arrival. He looked over to his right to see a small neon sign illuminating a name that he had a hard time reading from this angle. It was clearly a club though and the way it was shabby and rundown it didn’t look like a very fancy one. 

“Do you by any chance want some?” Keith looked over to Blue passing over a syringe with a white substance swirling around it. Under the neon light, it almost seemed to glow. 

“Is that quintessence?” R seemed to back up from it as did N but Keith only stood his part and examined it. Chip plucked it out of his hand and looked at it as well. 

“Wow I haven’t seen this in so long,” He whispered. 

“Oh? Did you used to use as well?” Blue chirped up. 

“Something like that,”

“Well, it’s one of those advantages of working for Zarkon,” Blue snatched the syringe back. “Unlimited supply,”

“But it’s ultimately to his benefit,” Keith whispered but Blue heard and now he was staring at him. Behind that mask, Keith could feel his need for explanation. “Well you get addicted to it and in that endless loop of supply, he’ll just reel you back in. You’re giving him your life,” He whispered out that last part but Blue seemed taken back by the comment. 

“It’s already his,” He whispered back just as quietly but everyone heard and Keith felt a dread fill the car. Maybe he was like the friends he had gathered. Blue seemed to pick up on the tension and shrugged playfully before putting himself in his seat. “Anyways it helps with this kind of stuff. Makes you feel numb,”

“This kind of stuff?” R questioned. 

Blue shrugged and began pulling up his pants to real the bandages wrapped around them from when Chip had last fought. “It makes you forget you’re killing,” With that, he stabbed it into his thigh. “And makes you forget the pain,” He grunted as he finally injected the quintessence into his body. He seemed to relax into his seat. Before opening the glove compartment and pulling out a gun. He jumped out of the car and pulled down his pants with his leg while his hands were currently placing the gun behind his back. “Stay in there for a bit, I’ll call you in when I find him,”

The three glanced at each other before glancing out at Blue who stumbled into the door. “Can he even fight like that?” 

“We don’t know what he’s capable of,” N tried to defined which only caused Keith to roll his eyes. 

“We also don’t know how reckless he is,” They all fell silent and He looked over at Chip. “Well you’re in charge, what should we do?”

“Damn Red don’t call me out like that,” Chip slammed his head against the seat. “I think we should wait until he comes and gets us like he said. Maybe he has some sort of plan,”

“Or maybe he’s just winging it,” R chipped in. Nothing more was said by any of them. 

They fiddled around with things in the car until someone knocked on the window. They looked over in curiosity but Chip just shrugged and lowered it. “Are you with Blue?”

“Yes? What is it you need?” Chip announced despite the others caution. 

The man used his two fingers to motion for them to follow him. They got out of the car and crowded together. “Did he get caught?” N whispered. 

“I don’t know,” R answered. “Why would he sent someone to get us instead of himself?” 

“Would you two be quiet,” Keith whisper yelled. They did quiet down and Chip seemed to get in front of them as they entered. Maybe he felt like he needed to protect them from something, Keith found it annoying but he appreciated it nonetheless. The club was deceiving. Outside it was shabby and rundown but inside almost reminded him of private clubs he saw on T.V.

“Oh if it isn’t my old buddies,” That voice made them freeze and they all looked over to see Blue sitting on an armchair: back over on armrest and his legs prompted on the other. A glass of what looked like a margarita in his left hand and his right held a hand of cards. His shirt slightly up to show the Galra mark clearly displaced just above his left hip. Across from him, however, smiling at the guest with a fondness for Blue was Rayan McNeil. The man they were supposed to kill, with a couple cards in his hand and a glass next to him. “Welcome to the party!” Blue announced. 

Keith was wrong, he no longer reminded him of Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If only you knew Keith ;)
> 
> This honestly just turned into a crazy guide to addiction and mental issues. Next chapter is gonna get more violent so just a warning and I'm thinking about changing the tags a bit? Maybe... but i kinda don't wanna spoil a lot with them.


	7. Set Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The theme for this chapter: Set free by Veorra  
> I need to work on how to write fight scenes tbh. This is an all Keith and Lance centric chapter. Sad, I know, but I still like it

Lance didn’t feel anything. He didn’t feel the pain in his leg nor did he feel any clear thought trying to reason with him. He was staggering and he felt a bit of blood drip down his thigh, he should probably get it checked out, but he felt no pain so it wasn’t his concern right now. Red, Chip, R, and N were all in the car watching him. Lotor was talking to him but he wasn’t really focused on that. He would allow him to take control soon enough but right now he wanted to handle things himself. 

He burst in to see the lights blazing and he flinched back a bit as he looked around and finally caught a glimpse of Rayan. The club was closed and so no one but him and a few workers were there. Rayan was sitting down, relaxing in an old armchair with his bodyguard next to him. He was a bit hesitant about going forward but he was stopped by another rather huge looking man. “Who are you?” He growled and Lance noticed a couple of ghosts floating overhead. He reached for his gun or his shirt, his hands hadn’t decided yet, but he stopped when he noticed Rayan right next to him. He had known him from the past but never learned his name nor anything despite how he looked. 

“Well if it isn’t Blue!” Although he looked at Lance happily he glared over at the security. “Don’t you know who he is?”

“Blue as in the infamous right hand of Zarkon? I thought he had a different mask and he had a Galra mark on his hip. 

“Well let’s find out!” Rayan looked over and lifted his shirt to see his hip. It made Lance feel uncomfortable, horribly uncomfortable, especially with their history. He let him think they weren’t here to harm him however and so they let him pass when they saw his mark. “Granted you did get a new mask. I liked when you didn’t cover your face so much,”

Lance placed a hand over the Blue lion mask he wore and smiled despite himself. “I like this one better, easier to cover up,”

“Of course, I suppose your job has changed enough where you wouldn’t want others to see your face. You looked much cuter back then,” Lance shivered which Rayan seemed to notice as he smiled a bit wider. “Come in and have a seat! You helped create this place after all,” He cheered and called over two drinks for each of them.

“I’m actually here on Zarkons command,” Rayan seemed to freeze at that but both of them sat down once they got their drinks. “You stole a lot of money,” Lance hummed as he moved his cup in circles. Alcohol and Quintessence didn’t really mix well so he opted to drink as little as possible. 

“I was merely borrowing it,” He insisted. 

“Ah yes,” Lance could feel the giddiness that the Quintessence brought set in. “Because I truly take kindly to people borrowing my money when not asked,”

“How about a gamble?” Rayan tilted his head as well. “Let’s bet the number of money I owe and whoever loses has to pay,”

“That’s a stupid deal,” Lotor hovered over him. “Do you want me to take over for a moment?”

“No, not yet,” He whispered back. “Besides, this seems fun,” He got more comfortable in his seat as Rayan clapped his hands presenting him with a hand of cards. 

“Let’s start,” 

“Wait before we do!” Lance brought over one of the securities and told them to go fetch the others. 

“You brought others?” Rayan smirked a bit and began trading a couple of his cards. 

“Yup four others,” Lance said glancing at his different cards. “Zarkon assigned them to me,”

“He was always assigning you projects,”

“Yes like you,” Lance relaxed a bit more into his seat. 

“Is that all I was to you? A project?” The man seemed genuinely curious as if the answer wasn’t clear. 

“Nope,” He hummed. “You were never one; you were an assignment. I never got paid for it,” Rayan was handsome for his age, which seemed to be his late twenties, but the fact that he was that much older than Lance made him despise him even more. It made his stomach turn even just looking at him. He was going to die soon though… he wondered, “What exactly did you have to give Zarkon so that he would give you me for a night or was it always just a punishment?”

He opened his mouth ready to answer but instead, he noticed the doors open and in came in Chip first with the others following after him. “Oh if it isn’t my old buddies,” Lance was actually happy they came. He felt more relaxed, more in control around Rayan. “Welcome to the party!” They seemed tense but Lance didn’t pay it any mind. The quintessence was not truly set in his system and he could feel the energy boost it gave him. He began tapping on the arm of the chair to get rid of the nerves that wanted him to get up and move. 

“What are you doing?” Chip moved to the side and the others watched Lance as well. He couldn’t read their faces but Lotor hovered around them. 

“Should I take over now?” He crossed his arms. “There aren’t many people here so you’ll probably be fine on your own but you never really like killing, do you?” 

“No I’m fine,” He hissed at Lotor before facing Chip again. “Why, we were just about to play a game!”

“Cards?” Lance blinked at Red’s small growl but only looked at his cards. 

“What game are we playing?” He asked Rayan who was currently staring at the four who had just walked in. “Actually scratch that,” He tossed the cards in the air and watched as they all fluttered down. “Card games are so boring and mostly rely on luck,” He got up and began moving to the four. He wrapped his arms around N and R which caused Red and Chip to lean in as he whispered. “Get ready okay…” He hopped from one foot to the other and moved back away from them. 

He grabbed Rayan, who had dropped his cards as well, by his wrists and began dragging him off. “What are you planning here?” Lotor circled around him. “By the giddy way you’re acting and how you can’t seem to stand still I’m assuming the Quintessence has set in,” 

Lance nodded his head and, like a child, didn’t stop until he got dizzy. He stopped and laughed as he began catching his balance. Leaning on a table he let go of Rayan and slammed his entire body down as he began thinking. “Blue… what are you doing?” Chip stepped forward but Lance was having a hard time contemplating who Blue was, his name was Lance. The lights were distracting as they flickered between colors. He was facing up and so they were much easier to see as he was playing with something in his hands. Wait, what was in his hand? He brought it up to see a green ball with a number six neatly plastered in the middle of the white spot. Then he finally looked to the side to see the green he was laying on and realized he wasn’t laying on a table. He slammed both of his hands down which made the ones around him jump as he hopped off. “I got it!” 

“A… ball?” N questioned with her hands on her hips. She sounded irritated not that Lance noticed.

“Yes!” He said happily and faced Rayan once more. “A pool ball! Let’s play pool, it’s much more reliant on skill anyways,”

“Are your friends going to play as well?” Lance quickly shook his head. Rayan cocked an eyebrow but sighed as he moved over and grabbed two pool cues’, tossing one at Lance who wasn’t quite ready and moved it between both of his hands to get a good grip of it. “You’re on that shit again, aren’t you?”

Lance tilted his head. “No, I’m on the floor! That’s irrelevant let’s just play and see who wins,” One of the few people still working stuck around began setting up the balls in the small plastic triangle. Music, despite the club being closed, drifted through the club and Lance must have heard a song he liked because he instantly dropped the cue and ran to the DJ booth where he promptly began turning up the music. 

“Do you four know him very well?” Rayan slightly yelled over the songs playing. The four looked at each other unsure of whether to answer or not but Red only crossed his arms. 

“No, we just got assigned to him.” He looked at him back who nodded as if he just got confirmation of something.

“Yeah lucky, he usually never takes in people,” Rayan sighed as he watched Blue play with the many buttons in the booth. 

“You seem rather fond of him,” Chip pitched in. “Do you know him very well?”

He seemed to scoff at the question. “Hardly, I only borrowed him from Zarkon certain nights,” He shrugged and looked back at the four. “I’m assuming he’s on Quintessence right now. Don’t let that happen often, he turns into a different person when he’s on that shit,”

“For someone who claims to barely know him you seem rather concerned,” R noted. 

“Well, he’s special…” He shrugged. “Not really much to give, I only ever saw his face,”

“His face?” Red came forward yet all of them seemed intrigued. “What does he look like?”

“He’ll show you in time,” He looked over at Lance and waved his hand so that he would come back. “I’ve kept his secret this long,”

“Yeah? What are we doing?” Blue was tugging on the black cloth wrapped around his mouth and nose and scratched behind his neck. The blue lion mask shook a bit threatening to fall off but he only tightened it. Rayan pointed at the set-up pool table which caused Lance to clap his hands and pick his cue back up. “Alright let’s play!” 

“Come on let’s just follow his lead,” Chip sounded exhausted already but they simply watched as Blue moved to the end of the pool table. 

He moved the small white ball to the very point of the triangle and hit it relatively softly. He watched them scatter around for a bit before pumping his fist in the air. “I’m strips!” 

“Sure,” Rayan hummed a bit before hitting the white ball almost carelessly. “So what exactly did we agree on?” 

“We didn’t agree on anything,” Lance said back watching the balls scatter. 

“I thought you said if I won you would pay for the cost of the money I stole,” He glared a bit at Lance who used his turn to simply grab the white ball and roll it around the others. “Hey you can’t move--,”

“You want money?” Lance looked over at Lotor who was only staring at him as his white hair seemed to darken his face a bit. “Do you want to take control now? I feel like I’m gonna forget stuff soon,” Lotor sighed but did take control allowing Lance the ability to see as he controlled his body. 

“I mean if you want money you can have it,” Lotor said to Rayan as he sat down on the table and crossed his leg. 

“Isn’t that what you’re here for?” He looked between the four staring at Lance’s complete change in personality. 

“Nope,” Lotor messed with the small white ball and picked it up with the hand that wasn’t holding the cue stick. “We were all sent here because you have caused too much trouble and irritating Zarkon,” He threw the ball directly at Rayan who quickly yelled out in pain clutching his face. There was a surprising number of bouncers who were still around who quickly ran forward. 

The Quintessence Lance had gotten was actually making it easier to move and Lance himself seemed slightly unsure of how quickly Lotor had engaged. The other four had also started pulling back, drawing bouncers away from Blue and holding them off for as long as possible. N and R were both backing together and helping each other out tying them up and leaving them on the floor once they had grown weak enough. Chip was opting to knock them out rather than anything else and he was fast enough on his feet to move about. 

Lotor was standing on the table hitting the few bouncers around him with the cue. It got to the point where he got frustrated and simply broke it in half and began using both of his hands. Once he was done he sat on the table a bit from exhaustion and blew up out of reflex when his hair used to get stuck on his forehead with sweat. “God Lance how do you do anything in this heavy mask?” He breathed through the cloth. “I might as well be cooked alive,” 

“Lotor?” Lance stood right next to him. “Where’s Rayan?” 

Lotor seemed to perk up a bit at that and noticed N and R were painting and he followed Chips voice. “Red no!” That lead his eyes to see Chip focusing on Red who was currently trying to sneak Rayan out. For the first time since he had taken control, Lotor pulled out a gun. Lance knew he wasn’t very good with it, he was a great fighter but it was always him who was in control of long-distance fighting. 

A single shot rang out and then there was a piercing yell as Rayan fell to the ground. Red was conflicted on what to do. He looked like he wanted to stand up straight but at the same time, he wanted to bend down and help Rayan. 

“Now what do we have here?” Lotor began walking towards them. R and N were staring at all of them a bit unsure of what to do and Chip stepped forward. 

“Hey, it was just a small slip up I don’t think he meant harm,” He argued for Red who was only standing up straight right next to the exit with Rayan sprawled out under him. 

“Oh stop whining I barely grazed you,” Lotor made it in front of Red and motioned for R and N to come forward. “Would you take my dear old colleague to the car and keep him there, please. Knock him out if you wish,”

“Yes of course,” They both bowed and hurriedly made an escape with him in tow trying to stay out of Blue’s way. 

“Wait what are you gonna do to me?! Blue! Answer me!” Rayan argued the whole way out but was cut short when they made it out of the club. 

“Your—,” Red cleared his throat and began again. “Your accent's different,” 

“Is it?” Lotor mused and stepped forward wrapping his arms around Red’s hips. He, in turn, stiffened. “I hadn’t noticed,” He pulled out a blade that Red had put behind him and laughed at how uncomfortable Red had gotten from the closeness. He played on that, barely moving back as he began to twirl the knife in front of his face. 

“I don’t think Red meant any harm,” Chip pitched in. “He- he was just--,” he was interrupted as he caught the knife that was thrown at him. 

“Go mark the wall with our symbol and shut up okay?” Chip seemed hesitant at taking that order but ultimately sighed and moved over still in earshot of the conversation. “So Red tell me, what were you trying to do?” 

“Hey go easy on him,” Lance pitched in. “It’s not his fault,” He was ignored by Lotor as he circled around Red waiting for an answer.

“I- I was trying to--,” He was swept back as Lotor dragged his leg under him promptly making him fall on his back. Chip seemed to flinch at the sound but still tagged the walls with a giant Galra symbol. Lotor stepped on both of his wrist which caused him to grit his teeth in pain. He pointed the gun at Red’s head and sank down so he was hovering just above his stomach. 

“When I ask a question I want a direct answer. No hesitation. Hesitations mean you’re thinking of a lie and making excuses. I’ll ask once more, what were you trying to do?” 

“I just didn’t think he deserved to die,” He rushed out to relieve his wrists of the pressure. He just stared at him for a little before granting him his wish and stepped back. He made a move to get up and a foot slammed down on his chest. 

“Don’t move,” He moved it away and placed it directly next to Red. “So what you’re saying is that you directly disobeyed both Zarkon and I because you felt he was unworthy of what he had coming for stealing and selling our supplies?” 

“It’s just you two seemed kind of close and—,” Lotor brought his foot back and kicked him harshly on his ribs. Red let out a cry and doubled over as he grabbed onto his side. 

“Hey!” Lance yelled in protest again. 

“Excuses! Useless things that I don’t need,” Lotor yelled as he bent down and grabbed Red by the chin so that he was facing him. “Only say it if you’re making it an answer. What I want to know is why you believed he didn’t deserve it,” 

“He just seemed really fond of you and treated you well so I just thought he was a good person,” 

“Good person?” Lotor scoffed. “Fond of nothing more than his- my body and money,” He pushed his chin away and stood up again. Kicking him once more in the stomach. Lance flinched at that. Lotor allowed him to catch his breath before going on. “You have no privilege in deciding who dies and lives,”

“And you do?” Chip turned around at Red proclamation. Despite his mask covering his expression, Red sounded determined and, although doubling over a bit of pain, he moved up and sat on the floor. “You are just as unqualified as me to decide who lives and who dies,” Lotor seemed taken aback but kicked him back with enough pressure that it made Red’s chest burn. 

“We are all dispensable even that man you so desperately want to defend! We are here for one purpose and one purpose only, to follow what you came here to do!” Lotor began slamming his foot down on the same spot over and over just under Red’s ribs before simply slamming it down and pushing all his weight on it. “Zarkon is in charge of all-out lives he may not have the right to do so but he has the power to wipe anyone he deems an annoyance. Rayan was another worthless annoying, pesky fly! What do you do with fly’s when they constantly buzz around you? You get rid of them! You are nothing more than a fly swatter, do you understand? You can be replaced just as easily by someone who can get the job done. Don’t test my limits on how far you can stretch me!”

“Lotor enough!” Lance screamed as he saw Red heaving for breath and clutching his body. “You’ve done enough! Stop it!” 

“Now why should I--?” He brought his leg back ready to kick him again when Chip suddenly jumped in front of him and bowed holding his intertwined hands in front of him. 

“Please,” He breathed as he lifted his head to face him. “He’s my responsibility. I was put in charge of them and so I am partly at fault as well. I’ll punish him however you see fit later but we must leave. The cops are probably on their way now,” 

Lotor knew he was only using that as an excuse to get Red out of this and he was fine with that. He nodded a bit carelessly and backed up as Chip moved to look at Red. “Bring him to the car,” He sighed with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He didn’t help at all and Chip slowly followed after him helping Red stand up. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Chip whisper-screamed as he helped him stay balanced clutching his stomach. “Why would you do something like that?”

Red shrugged a bit carelessly grabbing back the knife he had marked the walls with and followed after Blue to his car. “Thank you,” He whispered when they made it outside. 

He got no response instead he dropped him in the back where it wasn’t as crowded as he was expecting. “Where’s Rayan?” Chip asked as he got behind the driver’s seat. 

“Trunk,” R said almost absentmindedly. Lotor let out a chuckle as he crossed his legs and sunk into his seat. 

“Did you get in trouble?” N whispered to Red who only crossed his arms and looked out the window. 

“Go back to where we met up,” Lotor instructed as he let Chip startup Lance’s car and drive off. Instead of a computer telling him where to go Lotor gave him direct directions. They made it in almost complete silence and Lotor was the first one out once they got there. He made his way inside and let them figure out to do. 

“Well, Rayan was right about one thing,” N sighed as she moved out and over to the trunk. “He’s completely different,”

“Yeah he’s acting really cold,” R agreed as he helped N pick up the passed-out Rayan and made their way inside. 

“Maybe it has something to do with Red pissing him off,” Chip pitched in. “Speaking off, what the fuck where you thinking?!” 

“Look I really don’t need a lecture from you of all people,” Red sighed. “Let’s just go inside,” They followed him in and saw Blue helping R and N place Rayan on a chair. He got thrown a rope which Blue had thrown. 

“Tie him down would you,” He sat down on the floor and waited for them to finish. There was a cloud of awkwardness that caused all of them to just sit or stand quietly until given an order. 

“The quintessence is wearing off,” Lotor sighed as he laid down on the floor and began whispering something to Lance. “How do you want to go about this?” 

“Why were you so mean?!” He answered back. 

“Oh, not this again. Look Red had what was coming to him,” 

“No he didn’t,” Lance argued. “You know he’s not a true Galra,” 

“Then he should start acting like one before my father figure it out,”

“Um, Blue?” Lotor looked over at Chip who was moving towards him. “He’s waking up,”

Lotor got up and moved over next to Rayan who was now struggling to free himself. “Blue what is this?” 

“Well I have direct orders to find out what you did to our money and supplies,” Lance cocked an eyebrow. They didn’t have any orders for something like that but he let Lotor play it out. 

Rayan scoffed. “Money’s gone, supplies are sold. Why else would I come back?!”

“Just as I thought,” Lotor walked forward and sat down on his lap wrapping his arms around his neck. 

“You haven’t changed,” He rolled his eyes. The other four were shocked at how forward Rayan acted. “Still Zarkon’s lapdog,” 

“So?”

“He’s tying you here with self-doubt and drug dependence! You’re only doing this because of him!” He screamed in fright. “You’re trapped with him. I know you are. I can get you out of this, I’ll help you!” 

“Help me… what could you possibly do for me?” Lotor gripped his face. Lance looked uncomfortable like he was ready to cry. “Zarkon owns me if you hadn’t figured that out. You can’t possibly help me. No one can., I’m stuck here,” Lance watched with small tears trickling down his eyes. He knew Lotor wasn’t answering for him; he was speaking to him. He was making sure Lance knew these things. Because despite Lotor being dead he still felt that breaking Lance and making sure he knew his place was his responsibility. Lance got the message, he couldn’t be freed, so he only turned his head away from the sight.

“I can set you free,” Rayan desperately cried after him. “I can take you away from Zarkon. I’ll give you whatever you want,”

“Whatever I want?” Lotor piped up. “Like what?” 

“I’ll give you anything,” Rayan spoke a bit softly. “Money, freedom, anything. I’ll give you my life if you just leave with me,”

“… your life,” Lotor got up from his lap and momentarily just stood there. No one made a sound until Lotor began laughing clutching his sides and watching as Rayan sank. “Your life isn’t worth his!” He kicked the chair over and made him fall back hitting his head on the concrete floor hard enough to make him jerk his body. His eyes fluttered a bit before ultimately closing as he passed out. “See, it’s free for the taking,” He pointed the gun at his head before seemingly stopping. He glanced over at the four who all had their heads turned away ready for a shot to ring out. 

Red flinched when he felt Blue place the gun in his hands and began dragging him towards the unconscious Rayan. “What are you doing?” Red cautioned. 

“Well, you haven’t had your lesson. You want to save him so badly,” Lotor gripped his hands harder around the gun in Red’s hands and pointed it towards Rayan’s head. “You get to be the one to kill him,”

Red noticeably stiffened. Chip, N, and R all seemed shocked as well as they turned their heads relatively quickly to watch. “Lotor no! That’s too much!” Lance screamed at him. “I know you can hear me!” 

“Go on, shoot,” Lotor directed, ignoring Lance. 

“Stop it!” Lance screamed desperately. He didn’t want to be the reason someone killed for the first time. He knew if they had to deal with it this long it would happen but right now he wanted to deal with it himself. He didn’t know Red but he knew he wasn’t a killed, not like he was. “Give me my body back!” 

“I can’t,” Red tried to step back and pull his hands back but Lotor had a tight grasp on him. “I don’t want to--,” His voice sounded harsh and panicked. 

“I didn’t ask that now shoot!” Lotor was about to push the trigger of the gun but he flinched as Lance screamed at him louder. He focused his body and moved Red’s finger towards the trigger. He pulled it just as he was pushed out of the body and Lance was surged to the side making the bullet that was shot barely miss Rayan’s head. 

Lance was back in his body. Lotor made it look so easy but he felt the way the Quintessence clawed at his nerves. Red noticed the grip loosen and pulled his arms away. “I’m sorry,” Lance whispered. Quickly he moved his hand over his mouth and ran a few steps away pulling his mask down and vomiting on the floor. He wasn’t really sure what had caused nausea. It might have been the Quintessence, it might have been being out of his body for too long, or it might have simply been from stress, neither less he pulled his mask back on when he was done and moved slowly out and towards the car outside. 

 

“Are you okay?” Chip ran forward and noticed the way Keith seemed taken aback. “Did you kill him?” 

“No, he’s fine,” Keith looked back at the body still passed out on the floor. If Blue hadn’t pulled back at the moment he did he would be dead. Keith shivered at that thought. He was told by Kolivan that he would probably have to kill but he wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. He didn’t expect Blue to change attitudes so drastically, he needed to report that to Kolivan. 

“Hey, you okay?” Chip put his hand on his shoulder and Keith jumped but didn’t pull away. He looked at Chip. He was another person he didn’t understand. He was supposed to be loyal to the Galra yet he acted nicely towards him. He didn’t get him. 

“Fine,” He answered. 

“What was up with that?” N looked out of the door that Blue had left from and turned towards the three in front of her. 

“Right, he’s a time bomb,” R shivered. “How is he Zarkons right hand?” 

“I think it was the Quintessence,” Chip shrugged. 

“That just makes me more irresponsible when being put in charge of us,” N argued. Keith opened his mouth to say something only for Blue clear his throat and draw their attention. N noticeably flinched.

“It’s fine,” Blue sighed twirling whatever was in his hand on his fingers. “I deserve that for the way I acted. The Quintessence is wearing off, I can feel it burning my skin, so we need to make this quick.” He was walking towards Rayan and when he finally made it he poked him with a needle and injected a transparent white liquid into him. “That’ll keep him knocked out for the rest of the day,” He sighed as he stood up and he hopped on one leg to another a bit anxiously. “Could you guys untie him and take him back to my car please?” 

Attitude change. Keith wanted to know what had caused it. How could someone act so threateningly one minute then like an anxious teenager the next? It was unnerving. The three had quickly nodded and cut Rayan out of the chair. Keith stayed back though unsure of how to take Blues order. He had almost made him kill someone… he had too much power and unpredictable. He needed to find out who this was.

Blue noticed him staring and began scratching at his arms. “Sorry about earlier, it won’t happen again,” He growled that last part turning over as if to look at someone before looking back at him. “Could you help me to the car,”

“Why?” Keith asked but stepped forward neither less ready to help him. 

“The Quintessence is wearing off,”

“Yes, you’ve said that,” Keith grunted as he began helping Blue catch his balance. 

“You know nothing about that drug, do you?” He scoffed. 

“Beyond the basics nope,” Keith thought of Lance. He was apparently addicted to it. 

“Well, it’s amazing,” 

“So I’ve heard,” 

“Well once it wears off your body completely shuts off,” Blue sighed. “It makes your skin itchy and your insides burn. It has a horrible aftermath,” 

Keith was taken aback. “Then, why do it?” he said much more harshly than he expected. 

“Why not?” Blue laughed. “It makes you feel 10 times better and that’s enough to make me deal with the aftermath of making me feel twice as worse." Keith once more thought of Lance. Why would he keep doing it? Why did anyone do it? This seemed much riskier. 

Keith didn’t answer instead he lead Blue to the passenger seat and sat down in the back. He passed the keys to Chip who started up the car. “Where to?” 

“I’ll give you direct directions,” He heaved and Keith noticed the way he scratched his arm. “It takes about an hour and a half to get there,”

Chip sighed sinking into the seat. “Awesome,” 

He leads him to the main road and no one butted into his directions. They all stayed silent as the car drove rather quickly through the roads. It was awkward and the others noticed how Blue seemed to grow itchier and more frantic with his words. He couldn’t really catch his breath. “We’re… almost there…” He rested his head against the glove compartment. “Just keep going straight… when you come to cross roads with a blue stop sign tell me,” He sighed and let himself relax a bit. 

A moment seemed to be too much for him and he opened his glove compartment to grab some Quintessence only for Chip to grab his wrist. He shook his head. “You can’t keep doing that, let the side effects wear off on their own,” Blue sighed after a moment. A simple sad sigh but it made him close the glove compartment and allowed himself to sink into himself. 

Keith wasn’t sure how to react. Chip seemed so familiar in how to deal with him or maybe he was just bold. 

Soon enough they made it to the crossroads and Blue seemed to contemplate what to do. “Park the car, grab Rayan and follow me,” He sighed as he jumped out. They all did what they were told this time Keith helped carry Rayan towards where Blue was standing and then they finally gently dropped his unconscious body on the floor. “This is my graveyard,” Blue whispered and passed them a flashlight. The light was just now beginning to rise but it was still hard to see. It took a moment for Keith’s eyes to adjust only to be met the graveyard as he called it. 

The others seemed taken aback too. There were trees covering most of them but the graves were clearly visible. They weren’t traditional though. All of them had a stone with a name carved in it and over it, they either had a cross or arch made of sticks and flowers. “Why did you bring us here?” 

“This is every single person I’ve ever killed,” Keith flinched and looked back at the slightly swarmed grave. “Well not every one of these people but most of them. We just need to dig a grave for Rayan,” Blue said almost sadly and moved back over a little deeper into the grave. N seemed to have gotten closer to R and Keith only hugged himself uncomfortably. When blue came back he produced three shovels and outstretched them in front of him. “I only have three so Red you go gather as many sticks and flowers as you can and bring me a hand-sized rock,”

Why did it have to be him? Keith really would have done anything if it meant he didn’t have to stay with Blue anymore then he already was. They all followed orders, however. Blue sat on the floor and Keith gathered as many sticks as he could, randomly grabbing any rock that seemed fine. He dumped them in front of Blue and he began to dig through the supplies. 

“You didn’t get me any flowers,” He pouted. Keith was ready to punch him but moved back into the forested area and began picking any random colorful plant he could find. He moved once more back towards Blue and watched him as he grabbed a bundle of sticks and tied them together. He dropped the flowers in front of him. 

“Happy?” 

“Very, thank you,” Blue patted the space next to him and Keith crumbled up his fists as he dropped to the ground. “Your wounds are hurting, aren’t they?” 

“Wounds?” 

“From when you were kicked,” He had grabbed another bundle of sticks and began wrapping the rope around those as well. 

“You mean when you kicked me?” Keith crossed his arms. Blue paused for a second before continuing to tie them together. 

“Yeah… from when I kicked you,” Keith didn’t answer. “Do you have a knife?” 

“Yes,” He answered almost immediately. 

“Grab the rock and carve his name into it,” He instructed. “Rayan McNeil,” 

Why? Keith couldn’t wrap his head around it. Why would someone as cold-blooded and dangerous as him care about a proper burial? He wasn’t even dead which just begged one more question. “Why are you doing this if he isn’t dead yet?”

“No use taking away unnecessary time of living from someone,” He answered almost immediately. Only when he looked over did Keith notice what he was making. He had crossed the sticks and was tying them now making a cross. “He was slightly religious so I think it’ll be appropriate,” He said when he noticed him staring. 

Keith averted his eyes for the rest of the time only carving the name on the rock how Blue told him too. He was done and gave it back to Lance who was currently curling flowers in-between the spaces of the sticks. “Thank you, Red,” 

“We’re done with the grave,” Chip suddenly ran forward and interrupted this. 

“Great,” Blue smiled. “We’re done too,” He picked up the carved name and his flower-covered cross and moved forward where Rayan was already in the hole. “You guys can go back to the car now,” 

“Wait, are you sure?” R seemed cautions. 

“Yes. You don’t have to see this,” He pulled out the gun from his back and placed down everything he was carrying. “I’ll be there in a bit,” They nodded and all began to move towards the car. Halfway between it, A single shot rang out. They all flinch and a few birds flew overhead where the sunrise was complete and the blue sky shined in his eyes. He turned around and saw Blue shoving dirt into the grave. 

They all sat down on the car and N was the one to break the silence. “That was the scariest experience in my life,” She gasped

“No kidding,” R agreed as he sunk into his seat. “That guy has problems,” Keith hummed as he looked back at where Blue was currently setting up the cross.

“Red stop staring,” Chip scolded. “Meddling in things is what got you in trouble in the first place,”

“Yeah, but it was fun to watch,” Blue simply kneeled in front of the grave now. It was hard to see how far they were but Blue had removed his bottom mask and looked like he was talking. He wondered what he was talking about. “Weren’t you the one supposed to punish me?” Keith sighed finally looking back at him. 

Chip moved over and flicked him on the forehead over his mask. “I think that’s an efficient punishment,” Chip sighed. “Just stop doing stupid things,” 

“Sure thing,” Keith found himself smiling until Blue made his way into the car. 

“Okay…” He voice was quivering and extremely soft. It was clear that he had cried at the grave. He placed a hand over his mouth. “Let’s go home…” He sighed sinking into his seat. Keith sunk into his seat as well. The more time he spent with Blue the more confusing he turned. It was much easier when he was a simple file, but he wasn’t. He was a person who was deemed coldblooded but cried at someone else’s grave. He was someone that flipped between personalities and Keith didn’t know how to report that.


	8. Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: Problems by Mother Mother (Expect a lot more songs from them. They're awesome!)
> 
> I think I should make a note that I am not Cuban, like Lance, I'm Mexican so two completely different heritages with similar things. I also learned that the two races have like this hatred towards each other for some reason. Like, if you go to Mexico all you'll hear is negative stereotypes of Cubans but that's like one of the reasons I don't talk to my family anymore. Too many stereotypes and negativity ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyways I felt the need to point this out because I don't know if they use those super cheesy nicknames and things like my family does.

“Lance talk to me!” Lance instead glared at the ground and kept his mouth shut. “You can’t keep this up forever!” He wasn’t planning on it but he sure as hell wasn’t going to talk to Lotor anytime soon. Lotor screamed in irritation as he circled around Lance who was back in his house. Eyes red and puffy and expression angry. He began brushing his teeth as Lotor crossed his arms and glared. “Stop staring straight through me! So I hit the stupid kid, what does it matter?!” 

It mattered. Mattered a lot to Lance in fact. He had no right to do that to someone and scare them with a threat of killing someone. He wasn’t going to destroy and manipulate another person like he did to him. He was not going to give him that but he also wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of answering him so he only began rummaging through his medicine cabinet. Lotor grumbling something under his breath as Lance pulled out a pill bottle.

“Those don’t work and you know it,” He hovered over Lance’s shoulder. Lance holding the antipsychotic pills in his hand and his name printed just above them. They didn’t, in fact, work as he would like them to but they did blur the ghost and figures and dull out the hearing a little. He barely ever took them but with Lotor screaming in his ear he saw no harm in it, they did make him feel sick but right now he just wanted to dull his piercing scream. The downside was since his reality was so closely linked with what the others couldn’t see they were both dulled out slightly. His psychic abilities more so but he felt it was worth just dulling noises. Plus, Lotor knew how much he hated them so he got a bit of satisfaction hearing him let out an offended gasp as he put one in his mouth and swallowed it down with tap water. 

He wanted to sleep. This was an exhausting day and exhausting time but the sun gleamed in through his windows and shined in his eyes. Even when he closed them he could see the light. It kept him up but he was so tired that despite that he found himself drifting in and out of sleep. He was lying down on the couch, to tire to go upstairs and actually lay down on his bed. He dug his face in-between the cushions of the couch. 

He had already texted Hunk and Pidge to not come over until after school and he knew they would stay after for about an hour before actually heading over here so he was surprised when he heard a knock on the door. It snapped him out of his dozing off but he ignored it thinking it was Lotor. The knocking grew louder and he sat up when he noticed that it wasn’t a figment of his mind; it was really there. That was strange. Everyone he would expect to come would have a key already, there was no reason they had to knock. Was it someone from the Galra? He tensed up, he had finished his mission there was no reason for them to come fetch him and he didn’t have any missed calls from Zarkon so he cautioned towards the door. Lotor wasn’t there or maybe he was and the pills were causing him to blur his vision of him. 

He opened the door relatively quickly to be met with no one until he looked down. A small boy standing straight looking up and gripping onto the straps of his book bag. “Tio Lance!” Lance flinched when the boy hugged him but it wasn’t because he didn’t know who he was. He did know who he was but he was here and that was dangerous. 

“Gordito?” Lance bent down to his level and smiled despite himself. “What are you doing here?” 

“Schools out and Mami’s busy so she said to go to my tia or tio’s house,” He smiled brightly and it reminded him a lot of himself as a kid. Dark brown skin and hair with blue eyes. They were much lighter than his own though. 

“I don’t think she meant my house,” Lance looked around before whisking him inside and closing the door. This was his sister’s, Veronica’s, oldest kid and yet still so young. She hated him being around Lance. “She does talk about me, doesn’t she?” 

“Sometimes,” He smiled as he dropped his book bag onto Lance’s couch. 

“Como esta?” Lance shook his head a bit unsure why he had asked that. He missed them… he missed his whole family. “How are your tios and tias?”

“Tio Luis takes me to school now because tio Marco hurt himself at work,” He said a bit cheerfully. “Mami got a new job but she still goes to school,” 

“That’s good,” He smiled remembering his siblings. He wondered how they were doing. They were all older than him so he expected them to be making a life for themselves but ever since they had cut ties with him he couldn’t talk to them at all. They wouldn’t even answer his calls and it made him tear up a bit looking at Gordo, whose real name was Juan. “And your abuelita? She’s doing fine?” His mom… they hadn’t spoken in so long whenever he made an attempt to go near her he would get either scared off by Veronica or his own worry. 

“She’s good!” He cheerfully. “She’s taking care of Rosita because she didn’t go to school today,” Rosita was his younger sibling, four years old if Lance remembered correctly. 

“And what about you?” Lance said smiling as he sat down next to him on the couch. “You doing good in school?” He nodded but smiled a bit sheepishly as if hiding something. “You better be!” Lance laughed as he grabbed him by the stomach and picked him up upside down as he squirmed around with a huge smile. “You wouldn’t want to end up like me, would you?” He smirked as he began tickling him and he kicked him away with a gasp of air. 

“But I like you tio!” He laughed as he sat up. Lance smiled back. He missed his entire family and even though they hated him if even one, if even Gordo, who was so small he probably doesn’t understand why Lance is hated so much by his family, liked him, even for just a small time, he was happy with that.

“You hungry?” Lance moved to the kitchen as Gordo followed him. “Let’s eat and then we’ll wait for your mom to pick you up,”

* * *

“Dude you look like shit,” Pidge sat across from Keith as he examined the bruise on his arm. “Did you get into another fight or something?” 

Keith looked up at her and sighed as he covered the bruise with the sleeve of his jacket. “Something like that,” 

Hunk appeared and sat with them as well. “You really shouldn’t get into fights,” He said with concern. “It’s not healthy,” 

“Yeah-yeah,” Pidge rolled her eyes. “Classes are over want to head over to Lance’s?”

Keith looked up at them and shivered a bit uncomfortably. Blue had completely lost control when he was under Quintessence, it didn’t look healthy and he just learned it had horrible side effects that made your entire body burn unless you take another dosage of it. So more than anything he was curious. “Is Lance addicted to drugs?” 

Hunk quickly looked over at him in shock and Pidge retracted a bit. “He told you?” Hunk whispered. 

Keith sunk into his arms. “I mean, yeah, but is he still addicted to them?” 

Pidge cocked an eyebrow. “Of course he is, it’s an addiction for a reason,” Keith looked up. She looked angry, had he asked the wrong question? Or maybe he had just asked the wrong person. 

“But is he using?” 

“Why the fuck do you care all of sudden?” Pidge questioned defensively. Hunk looked uncomfortable. He looked between Pidge and Keith. “Is that like something that would make you treat him differently or something?!” 

“What, no!” Keith looked at Hunk for defense but he seemed just as uncomfortable as before albeit a bit shocked. “I’m just worried!” 

“Worried?” Hunk questioned. “It’s not our place to tell you. If he wants to then he’ll do it himself but right now I think you're overstepping your bonds,” Keith retracted. They were both so defensive about it. They seemed worried as well which made Keith feel a bit guilty. 

“Are you going to interrogate him or something because of your little obsession with the Galra?” Pidge crossed her arms. Keith tightened his fists a bit at the question. “Lance doesn’t buy it, he’s gifted it! You learning shit and getting your stupid revenge isn’t going to make Shiro wake up!”

“Don’t talk about him like he’s dead!” Keith screamed back but Pidge held her ground. Both standing up and glaring at each other. Hunk placed his hands on both of their chests. 

“Stop,” He scolded. “There’s no reason to fight. You guys need to apologize. I don’t know who Shiro was- is,” He corrected himself. “Or why you suddenly had an interest in Lance but both of those comments were uncalled for,”

A moment passed in silence and Keith only crossed his arms. “Forget I said anything,” Keith sulked as he got his pack and moved it on his back. “Let’s just go to Lance’s then. Does he not have a job?” 

“Not a solid one,” Pidge grumbled as she began walking away with Hunk and Keith following after her. 

“He usually just gets jobs in between things,” Hunk explained a bit disappointed that they hadn’t formally apologized. “He gets called in and stuff,”

“As what?” 

“A musician most of the time,” Hunk smiled. “He usually just sings and stuff,” 

Keith cocked an eyebrow. Then why the hell was he so freaking loaded? That didn’t make sense how he could afford the house and car. He thought for a bit unsure what to say. He simply got into Hunks car and they all began driving to Lance’s house. Keith kept quiet and only picked up small parts of Hunk and Pidge’s conversation. They were talking about a project they could collaborate on and Keith simply looked out the window. 

They finally made it to the house and Keith realized he had a key too. It hung next to the red lion charm around his neck. Shiro had one too, a black lion with red and blue wings. Both of the charms were gifted to Shiro by a boy he had saved from the Galra a while back, Pidge’s brother, Matthew Holt. Keith had met him on multiple occasions but had never truly sat down and talked to him. He gave useful information to the police and he still kept in contact with Keith to check up on Shiro. According to him, the Galra treasured these small lion charms and by stealing them he became much more wanted and hated. Matt had also said they liked them because of their supposed protection abilities but he had given them to Shiro and Shiro had gifted him the red one.

Why was Lance obsessed with them? Maybe he had heard about the supposed protection and latched onto that idea. He shook his head, he supposed someone with a mental illness like his would put some significance in these small little things. 

Hunk opened the door and made his way inside only to be met with Lance screaming a happy laugh. “Run!” They all went inside to see Lance with a blanket tied around his neck as well to mimic a cape and a boy chasing after him with a much smaller blanket wrapped around his shoulders as well. They were running around the house with their bare feet hitting the floor to create a pitter-patter in the room.

“Gordito hurry to safety!” Lance jumped onto the couch and the small boy followed after him plopping down and breathing heavily with a smile on his face. Lance looked over and saw the three who had just entered. He blushed and pulled off the cape. 

“Well, hello to you too!” Pidge laughed 

“Well look we’ve got intruders,” Lance faced the small boy and promptly clapped his hands. 

“Hey,” Hunk smiled warmly and stepped up towards the two on the couch. He outstretched his hand. “My name’s Hunk,” The little boy smiled and held out a hand as well. 

“Tio Lance was telling me about you!” Hunk seemed to blush a bit and smiled. They sparked up a conversation for a bit and Keith zoned out as he looked over at Lance. He was facing the wall staring up at something that wasn’t there. He seemed to be trying to focus without succession. He would close his eyes and blink rapidly when he opened them. Frustrated as he whispered something and shook his head to clear his thoughts. 

“I think he took one of his antipsychotics,” Pidge whispered towards him examining his nervous ticks and the way he patted his thigh anxiously. “He has a lot and he’s technically supposed to take a couple not just one but if I know him he only took one,”

“Then why is he still talking to nothing?” Keith looked back. “I would think he took them to stop the voices yet here he is,” 

“He doesn’t like taking them,” Pidge crossed her arms. “If he took them that means something was urging him to do so,”

“He wanted to block something out?” Keith watched Pidge shrug and she sighed. Both of them were still uneasy about their previous conversation. They wanted to apologize but they felt they had missed their opportunity to do so.

“Hunk buddy let’s all go to the kitchen and I can help you make something quickly,” Lance announced as he moved up and shooed them towards the kitchen. 

“How about sopa fria? It’s pretty fast to make” Hunk smiled. “Pretty easy to remember what we need,”

“I can show you!” Gordo smiled and grabbed onto Hunks hand as they made their way towards the kitchen. Keith and Pidge made their way forward, but Lance stepped in front of them and stopped them. Pidge opened her mouth to ask him something, but Lance cut her off.

“Nu-uh take your negative energy out of here,” Lance shook his head. “You two need to apologize to each other right now,” 

Keith was taken aback. “Wait, what?”

“You heard me mullet,” Lance crossed his arms. “I’m not letting you pollute my young nephew with your negative energy. Stop fighting and makeup!” 

“How the hell do you even know about that?!” Pidge yelled. 

“I know all,” Lance smiled as he moved his hands around him. Both of them glared at him skeptically and so he just shrugged. “Little birdie told me,” 

“One of your ghosts?” Keith crossed his arms. 

“Technically he’s not a ghost, more so he's just asleep, I guess?” 

“Choose one, Lance, you either see ghosts or people asleep,” Pidge crossed her arms. “Not like I believe you,” 

“I see spirits you evil gremlin!” He fake gasped. “That aside apologize right now!” 

“What’s in it for me?” Pidge questioned side eyeing Keith as he seemingly glared back. 

“I’ll give you your key back,” 

“Bet!” Pidge turned towards Keith and opened her mouth but Keith beat her. 

“I don’t need a half-assed apology,” 

“I hate to agree with someone who looks like the living embodiment of the word angst but you need to genuinely apologize. You too Keith!” 

“What why me?” he turned his head up. “She’s the one that said those things about Shiro,” 

“Because you were talking about Lance behind his back,” Lance flinched and Keith shrunk a bit. 

“I wasn’t talking about him I was just asking questions,” Keith crossed his arms flipping between looking at Pidge and at Lance.

“Okay, I will admit I’m a little hurt,” He sighed and gripped the top of his arms. “Look, just say sorry,” He turned on his heel without any other word and the two heard the chatter that was caused as Hunk greeted him and Lance answering back.

“Great now I have to apologize to two people today,” Keith sighed. 

“You don’t have to do anything,” Pidge argued “And maybe if you hadn’t talked about something that wasn’t necessary then we wouldn’t be in this mess,”

“I was just asking a question!” Keith argued. “I didn’t mean any harm of it, I just wanted to learn more about quintessence,”

“So you weren’t worried about Lance after all,” Pidge looked over at him. “This was just to learn a couple things?”

“Of course I’m worried if he’s doing that shit but he seems manageable,” Keith looked over at Pidge as well. “I met someone recently and he honestly scares the shit outta me,”

“Keith Kogane, admittedly scared?” Pidge scoffed. “That’s a first,”

Keith rolled his eyes playfully. “The point is that the guy that I met is scary but he changes moods quickly… He’s on quintessence too and I was just wondering if Lance did that too. If that was normal and not just this specific person, you know?” 

“You should have asked him about it personally,” Pidge sighed. “We would know nothing about that,”

“I would feel bad bringing it up. It would make me look like an asshole who doesn’t trust him,” Keith ran his fingers through his hair and Pidge seemed to scoff at that. 

“Keith you really need to learn how to talk to people and you won’t have this problem,” She placed her hands on her hips. “One thing you’ll learn from Lance is that he’s really good at reading people. Trust me when I say he wouldn’t take it wrong if you just say you don’t mean any harm in it. He trusts you,”

“He trusts people to easily,” 

“Surprising considering what he’s been through,” Pidge sighed and Keith ached to ask what she meant but kept his mouth shut. 

“I’m sorry,” He finally sighed out. “I really didn’t mean any harm in asking that question and I phrased it wrong or if you took it the wrong way. I’m sorry for being insensitive” 

“No, you’re not. You just don’t realize it,” Pidge laughed. “I’m sorry too. For bringing up Shiro like that. I shouldn’t be using him as a way to get to you,” Keith smiled. 

“So we’re cool?”

“I’m like you’re only friend, of course, we are,” she saluted as she stalked over to the kitchen. Keith smiling and following after her. 

“Did you two make up?” Hunk smiled at them and set two plates down on the table. 

“Peachy,” Pidge smiled as she sat down. “So what’s your name kid?” 

“Juan,” The little boy smiled and Lance tapped on the table. 

“I call him gordito,” He smiled fondly. “Because when he was a baby he used to be so cute and chubby,” 

Keith cocked an eyebrow. “Isn’t that kinda mean?” 

“Poor dumb Keith,” Lance sighed which caused him to open his mouth to defend himself but the little boy laughed and made him shrink into his chair with a huff. “He’s my nephew. I have permission to call him that as a nickname but if anyone uses it as an insult they best be prepared to face me!”

“Go Tio!” He smiled as he continued to eat. 

“Well I apologized, can I get my key back?” Pidge asked. 

“Nope,” Lance answered almost immediately which caused him to get kicked in the leg. “Ow, you pigeon!” 

“You liar!” She sulked. 

“Hey maybe he has a reason not to give you one,” Hunk defended and looked over at Lance who only shrugged which earned him another kick. 

“Ow! Stop kicking me! Not my fault I still don’t trust you with full access to my house,” 

“You son of a--,” Lance pushed a hand over her mouth. 

“There are children present!” He gasped. Keith laughed and looked around. 

“Is it always this chaotic,” He asked Hunk. He smiled in return. 

“We usually don’t stick around long enough for it to turn this chaotic in his house,” Hunk answered. Lance and Pidge looked over at them.

“I try not to have so many people over at the same time,” Lance smiled as he placed his head on his hand. “It’s nice though,” 

“What about Allura and Coran?” Hunk offered

“My house is not a place where they’ll be welcomed,” He sighed. “Too many cameras,” He shivered. Keith cocked an eyebrow. 

“Did you put those up?” He asked. Lance only shook his head softly. “Then who did?” 

Lance averted his gaze and Keith got pinched under the table by Pidge. He looked over for an explanation only to be met with a finger over her mouth and a shaking of a head. “Sore subject?” Keith mouthed. 

Pidge rolled her eyes as if it was obvious. “Keep your mouth shut,” she whispered and turned back to Lance. 

“Well we should all meet up somewhere else one day,” Hunk smiled and placed his head in his hand as well. He was looking at Lance a bit with concern but softened when he looked up at him with a soft smile. 

“Yeah…” He sunk into himself. “That would be nice. All of us together just talking,” 

“How many people are here for you Lance?” Keith asked which was directly followed by an elbow to his ribs from Pidge. 

Lance chuckled a bit before counting. He pointed at everyone then beside himself where no one stood and behind Keith where no one was. “Not counting me six people,”

“Six?” Hunk nodded peacefully and accepted the answer. “Ghosts?” 

“Lotor is,” Lance sighed. “He’s a pain in my--,” He looked over at Gordo who was cocking an eyebrow at him. “In my face of course! He’s being really annoying,” 

“Lotor?” Keith swore he heard that name before. Kolivan had mentioned him before but had said something about him not being a threat right now. He couldn’t remember very well. He would have to ask. 

“And the other one?” Pidge smirked as she looked over at Lance. He opened his mouth but seemed to be taken back by something. 

“Well…” He shrugged. “He has told me not to tell you his name,”

“Right,” Pidge teased. “Because he’s a very scary man,”

“Okay one: he honestly kinda is,” Lance shivered. “And two: how dare you doubt me,” 

“True,” Hunk cut in. “How do you not believe him yet,” 

“Believe what?” Gordo asked and Lance paled a bit at the question. 

“Nada Gordito. Just eat your food,” he smiled. “Keith pass me… that thing,” 

“That thing?” Keith looked over to where he was looking but saw nothing. In the direction. “There are a million things you’re gonna have to be more specific there,” 

“The tenedor!” Lance yelled out. 

“What the hell is that?” Keith groaned. They could both hear the snorts around them. 

“The…the thing! What the fuck is the word?!” He mumbled under his breath and began moved his closed fist up and down. “The stabby spoon!” 

“The stabby spoon?!” Keith let out a gasp of air. 

“The fork, oh my fucking god!” Lance groaned. 

“The fucking stabby spoon!” Pidge laughed. Hunk was laughing as well. 

“You knew what I meant!” Lance argued as he snatched the fork from the now laughing Keith and began eating. “Screw you guys this is why Gordito’s my favorite,”

Gordo laughed a bit at the comment and pushed his plate away when he was full. Lance continued to eat but kept stopping to scratch his arm. They all seemed to notice but it wasn’t that bad until the periods between each scratch got shorter and Lance grew more frustrated. He dropped his head and, using his fork, began to scratch his arm. 

"Stop scratching yourself Lance," Keith snapped his fingers to garner his attention. 

"Did you get bit by something?" Hunk looked over at them. Lance looked over at him a bit in shock before ultimately smiling at his nephew. 

"Mijo if you're done go gather up your things so we can call your mom," He looked at him funny but nodded as he picked up his plate and placed it in the sink. "Thanks, Gordito," 

"I'll call my mom myself," he announced with an unsure smile. Lance hesitated but gradually pulled out his phone to hand it to him. He snatched it from him before he could even offer it and ran off into the living room. 

"He seems nice," Hunk smiled 

"He seems like he's hiding something," Pidge looked over at where he had run off before looking back over at Lance. "Are you sure he was even allowed to come over?"

"I know for a fact that he wasn't," Lance smiled and began itching at his now puffy red arm. 

"Lance what the fuck!?," Pidge got up and shared a look with Hunk. He looked back over at Lance. 

"You could get into a lot of trouble for that!" Hunk scolded. "Why wouldn't you tell his mom? You're siblings after all?"

"I've been disowned," he sighed. "She hates me. I just wanted to hang out with him for a bit," 

Keith looked at Lance's arm. It was growing deep red dots and sharp dark lines but no bump or bite was visible. Itchiness could come from many different conclusions but he hoped he knew Lance. He, in turn, clutched his hands and straightened his back when he tried to come to the most likely conclusion. 

"Hey Lance," Keith started off calmly. "Remember that promise you practically forced me to make?" Lance smiled warily. "I haven't broken it or anything because, like I said before, I don't have a problem with it so it was something I could easily keep..." he looked away from Lance and bit his lips as he thought of how he should phrase this. He didn't want to make it seem like he was jumping to conclusions but there was no simple way to put this.

"Keith where are you going with this?" Pidge cocked an eyebrow looked at Keith who was now tapping the table.

"Yeah, and what promise is he talking about?" Hunk looked over at Lance before looking over at Pidge who shrugged in response. 

"How are you doing with your part of it?" Keith ignored the other two. Lance seemed to flinch up. He tapped on the table as Keith's expression changed to a glare. 

"I'm sorry," he whispered out and before he could make up an excuse he and both Pidge and Hunk flinched as Keith slammed his hands on the table. He didn't notice the way Lance seemed to wash over with fear at the sudden noise. 

"You lied to me!" Keith yelled as he stood up. "I thought you were all about keeping promises and you already broke it so damn soon?!" Pidge was placing her hand on his chest trying to calm him down. 

"It was circumstantial," Lance explained getting up as well. "Please, can we talk about this later, not in front-" he was stopped when Keith lifted his right hand and Lance flinched. Why had he flinched? He didn't feel anything all he felt was when he crashed on the floor and heard the yelling continuing as the pain in his cheek settled. Keith was glaring at him, his fist still slightly in the air. 

"Are you fucking insane?!" Pidge screamed. She was up as well grabbing onto Keith’s arm. She went unnoticed. 

"Circumstantial," Keith scoffed. Lance was just staring up at him clutching his cheek with watered eyes. Hunk by his side saying things that Lance wasn't paying attention to. "Nothing is circumstantial, Lance. You always have a choice and as a matter of fact, I can't think of a single one that would give you an excuse to-" Lance kicked his leg under Keith and made him lose balance and fall forward. He groaned as he looked up and saw the way Lance was glaring at him. 

"Stop fighting! Both of you!" Hunk yelled. 

"Tio?" Gordito walked in, phone still in hand, and looked around at the scene. "What's going on?" 

"Nothing," Lance stood up and walked over to him with an unsure smile. "Did you call your mom?" 

"Yeah..." he seemed unsure of his own answer still trying to piece together what was going on. "She's gonna be here in a little bit," The color that was once on Lances face faded at that and his already unsure smile faltered. 

"Okay, great," He stepped forward, stepping on Keith who was still lying on the ground. He didn't pay mind to that and ignored the grunt and glare Keith gave. "Let's go wait for her together," 

The three watched as he disappeared into the living room with his nephew. Hunk was the first to get up, and he moved to the cabinet grabbing a Ziploc bag and filling it with ice before wrapping it in a cloth as he walked away towards Lance. Keith finally got up with a grumble only for Pidge to grab onto the sleeve of his jacket and dragged him into the back. Keith noticed how put together his backyard was if he wasn't angry he would love to just sit down and talk.

He opened his mouth to say something only for Pidge to pull him down from his sleeve and hit him on the top of the head. “What in the ever-loving fuck is wrong with you?!" He opened his mouth but she once more beat him to it. "Actually shut the fuck I don't want to hear it," she was glaring at him tapping her leg on the grass. Keith was unsure what to do but his anger barked out. 

"You either want me to talk or not; pick one Pidge," He was glaring at nothing and when he spoke he spat out each word with no remorse. Pidge wasn't fazed by this. She stood her ground and continued glaring at Keith. 

"Oh be quiet," she sighed. "What would Shiro think?" 

Keith turned his head sharply. "You said you wouldn't bring him up!" 

"No I said I wouldn't use him to get to you," she looked back. "But I'm not using him against you I am legitimately asking you what he would say if he just saw your little outburst," 

"Well, he didn't!" Keith crossed his arms "And he's not going to any time soon because the stupid Galra stuck him in a hospital bed!"

"So you're just gonna throw away all the shit he taught you?!" Keith kept quiet and only looked away from her. Pidge pulled at her hair. "God you're so frustrating," She huffed as she sat down on the ground. 

Keith glanced over at her for a minute before loosening his stance a bit and prompting to sit down next to her. Pidge was playing with the blades of grass, pulling them off and letting the wind whisk them out of her hand before repeating the process for some time. Keith stared at her for a bit before letting out a small sigh. “I’m sorry,” 

Pidge scoffed continuing to play with the slightly cold grass. “For what?” And she didn’t look up. Keith hated that. 

“I’m sorry for hurting your friends,” he sighed. 

“And you’re apologizing to me?” she finally did look over at him. 

“I’m not apologizing to him,” Keith crossed his arms once more but this time he beat Pidge to an explanation. “If I do that’ll make it seem like what he did was okay and he’ll keep doing it. The one thing Shiro taught me was to hold my ground and don’t let people take advantage of me,” He gave Pidge a small smile. “Thanks for introducing me to your friends though,” She took a moment before sighing. 

A voice cut their conversation off. “I would butt in but I have no idea what you’re talking about,” They quickly looked over to see Hunk smiling at them. “Wow that’s the most care I’ve seen you share Pidge,” He smiled as he walked over and hugged both of them. 

“Alright you big teddy bear,” Pidge laughed as she pushed herself off. Keith leaned into the touch a bit smiling when Hunk finally decided to let him go. 

“Now Keith,” Hunk stood up straight and placed both hands on his shoulders. “I know Lance can be a bit much at times but he’s my best friend and if you ever hit him again I will end you,” He gave a big smile and Keith shrunk with an unsure smile. “I’m with Pidge on this one though. We don’t really know what happened and what provoked you--,” 

“Anger issues,” Pidge coughed and hit her chest as if she was clearing her throat. 

Keith rolled his eyes and Hunk sighed as he let his hands drop from his shoulders. “Look, he trusts you and who knew Pidge could make other friends,” Pidge rolled her eyes with a small smirk as Hunk went on. “With everything he’s been through he usually tends to like people like you,” 

“Like me?” Keith questioned. What was so special about him? 

“People who don’t just brush him off as crazy,” Hunk smiled. “Pidge and I didn’t do that, that’s why he’s so close to us,”

“But Pidge doesn’t even believe him!” Keith argued. “I don’t even know what I believe but why would he already be attached to me,” 

“It’s not about believing him or not,” Hunk strained. That just confused him even more. 

“It’s because you’re trying,” Pidge stepped in with a sigh. “I may not believe he sees ghosts but I didn’t just count him off as another crazy person,”

“You’re trying to get what he’s going through,” Hunk offered. “Instead of giving false advice and lectures you know,” 

“I still see that as nothing to get attached to,” Keith huffed as he walked over to the hammock and sat down.

“Keith you really are an idiot,” Pidge sighed. “Imagine if depression was just brushed off as sadness, how would that make you feel?” 

Keith pushed himself gently in thought. He didn’t know. “Shitty?” He said out loud. “Like I was just being stupid,” 

“And people just brush him off as hallucinations,” Pidge explained sitting next to him. “There are so many other things taking place in his brain and so many other elements contributing to things,” 

Hunk moved over and sat next to him as well. “He likes you because you tried to understand more beyond the general idea of things. I personally believe he sees ghosts but I’m not going to brush off that he does have mental breakdowns when his mind takes in too many things at once,”

Keith was feeling guilty. A pit in his stomach settled in as he fidgeted with his thumbs. “Like we said before, we don’t know the full story,” Pidge sighed. “We’re not gonna tell you to do something or to apologize since you’re obviously upset too but try to forgive each other,” 

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Keith sighed as he dragged his hands down his face. 

“Talk,” Hunk smiled simply. “If anything, just try to understand why you both got angry at each other,” 

“I don’t think it’ll be that simple,” 

“Well doing nothings only going to make it worse,” Hunk offered with a smile

“Yeah and you’re like the only people I like hanging out with and I’ll be damned if you ruin this,” Pidge grumbled. “Come on let’s just go see if we can catch Lance and his nephew,” 

“Well his mom got here and Lance told me to go see what you guys were doing so I doubt his nephews here but Lance is probably still in the front,”

They all got up and walked back inside expecting Lance in the living room. He wasn’t there so they moved to the front. It was vacant as well. They all shared a worried glance at each other before completely spreading out in the house trying to find him. They shouted his name and worried where he had gone but to no avail. 

“Did you find him?” Hunk tightened his fist a bit. 

“No, he’s not upstairs,” Keith looked around as if he had somehow missed a spot. “I’m sure he’ll be okay by himself,” 

“Yeah but he hates being by himself,” Hunk strained. “If he left that means something's wrong,” 

“Something is definitely wrong,” Pidge stepped into the conversation. “His room is a complete mess. Everything is open or on the ground. Almost like he was looking for something,”

Hunk and Keith paled. “You don’t think he would…” Hunk’s voice trailed off. 

Pidge looked back at him sadly. “One of his cars is missing,” 

Keith snapped them out of their long silence. “That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he just left,” He stopped for a moment. “If he were to go somewhere to calm down where would he go?” 

“The Castle,” Pidge said quickly. “But how do you know he wants to calm down?” 

“I don’t but let’s hope he’s making a healthy decision right now,” Keith sighed. They all slightly ran out, locking the door behind themselves and all pushing together in Hunk’s car. 

“God Lance, let’s hope you didn’t do anything stupid,” Hunk whispered as they began to drive off towards the coffee shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The stabby spoon conversation was based on a real-life conversation that I will never let my friend live down. This took longer than my other update because personal issues got involved and I had to stop writing for about half a week completely but it wasn't that big of a wait. Plus I was in the hospital across the country and my dumbass didn't bring my laptop, not like I felt like writing anyway. I met my family after like 7 years and I think that's why I decided to add Gordito like hella last minute and Lance's sister (Who'll be in the next chapter) so early in the story. My unstable and toxic family... just a warning.


	9. Let You Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: Let You Down by NF. 
> 
> This one revealed a lot more than I anticipated but let’s see if you can pick up on the little hints. I swear we'll get Shay/Hunk scenes and Allura/Shiro scenes soon! Also, schools about to end and that brings finals so updates may slow down if I get too busy but I'll try to keep my pace relatively the same with writing.

Hunk ran over with some ice and Lance smiled as he watched Keith be dragged out with Pidge. “You okay Lance?” Hunk asked.

“Of course,” He smiled. “It takes more than a punch to take me down!” Gordito laughed from his side and Lance called that a victory. 

A car screeched to a stop in the front and caught all their attention. “That’s probably my mom,” 

“Hunk would you go to the back and stay with Pidge and Keith while I talk to her,” He said quietly. 

“Yeah of course,” Hunk smiled. He made his way out and as soon as Lance knew he was gone he grabbed onto Gordito’s hand and walked him out. He heard the crunch of the ground as someone ran forward and looking up he saw the way his sister fell to her knees and hugged his nephew. 

“Veronica…” He whispered but she paid no mind to him. Instead, he held onto her son's arms as she pulled him away from the hug. 

“Juanito are you alright?” She looked worried and he gave a sheepish smile that would have reminded her of the younger Lance if she was truly focused on it. 

“I was just with my tio, Mami.” He smiled at her while gripping onto the straps of his backpack. 

She looked up at Lance and he smiled as she simply glared in his direction. Standing up she grabbed her son's hand and turned around. “Vente Juan. We’re going home, your sister’s already waiting for us,”

“Wait, Veronica,” Lance called out as his hand was yanked away. “Please, I just want to say bye to Gordo--,” 

Veronica whipped around her short brown hair hitting her neck. “Don’t call him that,” 

“Mami?” Gordito looked up at the two fighting, confused as to what set them off. 

“Go to the car Juan,” She sighed, straightening her glasses and looking back at Lance who nodded in approval. 

“It’s okay…” He smiled as he kneeled down to his level. “Just go and listen to your mom. She only wants what’s best for you,” He winked as stood back up to his own level. He reached out to pet his hair only for Veronica to slap his hand away from touching him. He was shocked, hurt clear on his face, but he only smiled and put his hand back beside himself. “Right… You be good now alright, call me whenever you want,”

He nodded in return. “Go to the car okay? I’ll be there in just a minute,” When it looked like he was gonna argue Veronica place a hand on his head and turned him around. “No. Go now,” Looking between his mom and uncle for a moment he seemed confused. He lightly jogged over to the car and waved Lance a good-bye. 

“He grew,” He smiled at Veronica. 

“Not that you would know,” She mumbled with crossed arms. She let out an exhausted sigh and looked Lance straight in the eyes. “What were you thinking keeping my son here?! He’s my son!” 

“Yes I know but I just wanted to see him again,” Lance shrunk into himself.

“You already had a chance to be part of his life,” Veronica yelled back. “You threw us away! You threw him away! You don’t just get to come back into our lives,” 

“I know,” Lance strained. “But I miss him… I miss you and Mami and Marco and Luis…” He whimpered. “I just want to be part of you guys again,”

“And we gave you that chance, multiple times might I add,” Her eyes watered and Lance hated that. He didn’t want her to cry when he himself was so close to crying. 

“I’m your baby brother…” Lance whispered out with a small cry. He was quick to wipe his eyes. “Please, I don’t want you to leave me again,”

“Leave you,” She let out a laugh that sounded in no way humored. It that made Lance’s eyes water faster. “Might I remind you that you left us. We looked for you for years and then we find out you could have left ages ago!”

“I couldn’t have!” Lance argued holding onto his hands. 

“Yeah and we believed you!” Veronica screamed back. “They drugged you up and did shit to you but we were still there for you! You decided to go back! Now you live here,” Her arms outstretched with a watered down smile present on her face. She looked at the house in front of her. “With your new friends and your new family like—like we didn’t even exist,” 

“I was desperate!” Lance cried. He wiped his eyes again. “You will always be my family,” He reached out his hand only for her to slap it away. 

“Don’t touch me!” She hovered her hands and arms next to her head as if trying to defend herself. “When we first got you back the doctors told us that you had gotten worse because of how they found you. And yeah okay, you saw stuff much worse and you were practically dependent on drugs to function but we knew that! We knew what we were getting into when we said we would take care of you again!” Lance was holding his hands close to his chest again, his cheek burning. 

“Believe me I know… I’m the bad guy,” Lance whispered. “I’ve sunk so low and let everyone down but I know I was right to protect you guys that time,” She let out a crude laugh. Dragging her hand down her face letting her makeup smudge slightly and tears to dissipate a bit more. 

“Oh yeah because the shit you’re doing behind your little blue mask is to protect us, right?!” Lance flinched and Veronica kept going. “You do all the shit you do with this big house and your stupid money to protect us?! ...You’re still on that crap, aren’t you?” She looked back at Lance.

“I’m sorry,” Lance said scratching his arm and Veronica scoffed

“Of course…” She grew a small almost fond smile. “The doctors told us that too. You were jacked up on so much stuff it would be hard to come back from…We really wanted to help you, Lance,” She whispered. “But you ran away and I’m sorry if abuelita filled your head with fantasies about what you’re seeing or if the people who did this to you hold some type of thing against you but you hurt us. You were the one who abandoned us and, yeah I admit, we had no idea how to protect you…but we sure as hell tried,” She wiped her eyes once more, blue eyes puffy and pink at this point. She turned with one heel and Lance instinctively reach out. 

“Veronica!” 

“No Lance!” She whipped around and jabbed him in the chest with her index finger. “Just stay away from my son,” Lance bit his bottom lip and Veronica turned around, walking towards her car once more. She wasn’t stopped this time. 

He was crying, obviously, and his arm itched while his body ached for its dose but he was frozen. He caught a glimpse of Gordo in the back of the car. His hands over his ears and head dug into his knees. Lance broke. He placed a hand over his mouth to muffled his cries as the car drove off. He was back inside his house and suddenly he heard three other voices in the back. He needed to get out of here but his body ached for the drug. His drug… the one that made him feel so much better. His friend’s conversations were probably coming to an end or maybe not. He didn’t want to stick around to figure it out. He was rummaging through his room. He knew he had some in here. Where was it? Where did he put it?! He couldn’t find it and now his room was a mess. He muffled his mouth and slammed his hand on one side of his head over his ear as a laugh echoed in his head. 

“Lance, you’re losing your touch,” Lotor whispered a crude smiled on his face that caused Lance to screw his eyes shut. “You used to have so much more willpower,” 

Lance wanted to tell him to shut up but he couldn’t. Instead, he was stuck looking directly at Lotor’s tilted head. The pills were still present in his system and they blurred him almost like a figure in a dream. He wished—hoped this was a dream. He knew better though. The tip of Lotors white hair touching the ground and Lotor with a hand rested on his chin and finger over mouth. Examining him like a lab rat; just like his mother used to. He felt trapped. So trapped he jumped up and ran down to his garage. Lotor hovering on his right shoulder. He grabbed some random keys and hopped in the car that fit them. The glass of the window blurred the ghosts and so he knew who was there and who wasn’t. The motorcycle was the only one he couldn’t quite drive correctly. That aside he quickly drove off ignoring everyone and trying to drive as softly as he could with the emotions running through his mind. 

The Castle was open; he didn’t want to scare anyone by just barging in but he didn’t know what else to do. He wiped his eyes and jogged over to the entrance. Stumbling over nothing and pausing as he shut his eyes tightly and covered his ears when Lotor laughed. He was growing a headache. He ignored it with a shake of his head and finally made it inside. 

“Lance, my boy, what’s wrong?” Coran almost immediately ignored the counter and made his way in front of him. “Are you alright,” 

Lance shook his head. “My hands itch,” He cried gripping onto Coran’s shoulders. He looked around at multiple costumers who were staring at him. He didn’t like to be stared at. 

“You’re having urges again, aren’t you?” Coran sighed when Lance simply collapsed into his shoulder. “Come on let’s get you to the back,” 

“Lance!” Allura moved forward as well as she caught a glimpse of him before gripping his cheeks so that he could face her. She took a moment to examine him before shaking her head in sadness. “Coran take care of the rest of the customers. I’ll assist Lance to the safe room where he can calm down,” 

“As you wish,” He nodded and they both moved behind the counter. Lance gripping onto Allura’s arm and wiping his eyes as she guided him. Coran stopped at the register but Allura lead Lance all the way to the back where she opened a door to a small dull room that was in the back. It was completely soundproof with nothing in it but sigils darkly written all over the wall. It was never about the décor. It helped Lance relax because of how easy it was close to the spirit world. 

For anyone, it would have just been a normal old room but for both Allura and Lance’s eyes, it was a passage to the spirit world. It was where guardians rested and that ghosts were much closer related to humans. Lotor hated it here which Lance loved. To him, it looked like a huge field of grass and dark purple flowers. A bright blue sky and calm wind. When Allura’s father had first died she had spent so much time here because it was the only place where she could clearly contact him and talk to him face to face. He was gone now, however, when he crossed over the memory that kept him in the spirit world disappeared along with it. 

Now wasn’t the time for that, however. She let Lance drop to the ground and he was mystified by the small room that held an entire field. He never got used to it. It was so beautiful and Allura had once mentioned that it reminded her of Altea, her hometown that was completely destroyed by the Galra. Lance mused over this as his lion began to form in front of him. Her blue fur brushing and falling to the wind mesmerized Lance like waved on a beach and he smiled. “Hey old Blue,” He curled in on himself on the floor. “I’m sorry we meet under such circumstance but you’re still as beautiful as ever,” 

Allura rolled her eyes playfully but was overjoyed at Lance getting his own persona back. “Lance, do you want headphones? A blindfold? I know how sensitive you can get with stuff like that,” 

“Why would I need that? I’m a mermaid,” He giggled. 

Allura giggled as well. “You sure you’re not on pure quintessence again,” She tilted her head to look at him. Her bright white hair hitting the ground made Lance flinch and Allura flinched back as well.

“No… sorry, I thought you were Lotor,” 

“You sure you don’t want anything?” She strained. “It’s okay if you do,” 

“Allura… I’m fine,” He sighed. “I will be anyways. Blue’s here. She’ll protect me, she always does,” Blue purred in response allowing Lance to smile as his eyes began to dry of tears. 

“Go to sleep Lance. It’ll help you get rid of those urges,” She looked at him for a moment before asking, “You want me to stay with you?” 

“Oh, are you offering to sleep with me?” He looked up at her and winked. She gave a loud sigh before flicking him in his forehead. He gripped onto it as a result and laughed. She was about to get up only for Lance to grab her wrist. “Wait Allura could you…” He placed her hand on his head and she smiled with a small huff. 

“You still act like a kid,” She said getting more comfortable on the floor and dragging her fingernails through his hair. Dragging them slowly but not too lightly.

“I’m so glad you got your nails done recently…” Lance whispered. Allura smiled and still petted his head as she herself watched Lance relax on the floor. 

~

Hunk and Pidge jumped out of the car almost instantly ready to see if Lance was indeed in the castle. Keith hesitated to get out. He was still angry at Lance. It wasn’t even that he had broken his promise --he had experienced people lying to him before too much for it to be a new feeling— it was about Lance doing shit like this and not taking care of himself. Keith remembers how exhausted Shiro would come home because of all the things he had to go through at the station. He arrested people on Quintessence all the time and made sure to come home to Keith to tell him all the things that could and would happen. He sighed as he jogged up to catch up to Pidge and Hunk. They were worried about Lance as well and yet they seemed used to it.

Once they made it inside they noticed only Coran was currently working. Taking orders then going off to make it. Not many people were there but enough to make everyone feel a bit uncomfortable. 

“Coran!” Pidge called. He, in turn, looked back and almost immediately stepped forward. 

“Hello! If it isn’t the other Paladins. I’m assuming you’re here looking for Lance?” Coran smiled when they seemed to relax a bit. Hunk let out a shaking breath. 

“So he’s here?” Hunk wanted confirmation. He did trust both Lance and Coran but he could help but feel a bit desperate for an answer. Coran twirled his mustache around his fingers. Keith watched him. He didn’t know this man, he had only met him one other time, but he seemed a bit strange. He could see why Lance would potentially get along with him though. 

“Of course!” He answered with a smile. “Lance has a great will after everything’s he’s gone through,” Again with this? Keith had heard quick mentions of Lance going through things but never felt he had a reason to be like this. 

“Right,” Keith scoffed. Coran crinkled his eyebrows and looked at him. Keith found the need to look away. 

“Red paladin,” He addressed which caused Keith to move only his eyes and nothing more. “You should learn how to measure willpower accordingly to how much someone is willing to put up with and not just your own idea of it,” Keith looked away again and Coran quickly gained his chipper personality back. “Allura is with him. Follow me,” He turned around and Hunk quickly followed after him. Pidge strayed behind staring at Keith with something he couldn’t really make out before sighing and following after Hunk. Keith huffed a bit in irritation before following them as well. 

He reached the door that Pidge and Hunk were currently looking through. On the floor laid Lance, hands tucked close to his chest and legs bent slightly. Allura was still running one hand through his hair while the other was currently holding a finger over her mouth to signal them to quiet down. 

“He’s asleep?” Keith whispered. He didn’t know what he expected but he didn’t expect him to be stuck in a creepy looking room. “What’s up with this room?” He said looking around at the white paint all over the walls. 

“It’s their safe room,” Pidge whispered back. 

Keith didn’t pry any further. “Is he on quintessence right now?” He said harshly. He didn’t even realize that until everyone’s gaze turned to him and he recognized the scowl that was on Allura’s face. 

“No, he’s not,” She all but growled. “He can’t go to sleep when he’s on it but he fell asleep almost immediately after he came here.” Keith looked at Lance. If he wasn’t on anything then why had he said sorry? This didn’t make sense. “You’re thinking too much,” Keith’s gaze lifted to look up at Allura. “That’s unhealthy,” She scooted over and patted the space next to her so as for Keith to come join her on the floor. 

Keith stared a bit at her. Pidge elbowed him on the side and motioned for him to go forward. “Go, you have some sort of grudge against him might as well start there. Hunk and I’ll be at our last table,” She sighed. “He wants to call Shay anyway,” 

“Shay?” 

“A girl he likes,” Pidge didn’t waste any more time as he pushed him in. “That’s not important right now. Stop getting into petty arguments, just… talk,” She shrugged and made her way out. Coran had already gone forward as well. Hunk hesitated, looking at Lance before sighing and following after the two as he fished his phone from his pocket. 

“So you’re the new friend?” Allura broke the silence that had barely started. “That’s rare that they add anyone to their little group of friends,” 

“Whoop-de-doo,” Keith rolled his eyes but sat down next to Allura. They were speaking quietly but Keith couldn’t imagine waking up Lance. “Allura right?” 

“Correct,” Keith had noticed that both Coran and Allura had accents yet they looked nothing alike. 

“Are you and Coran like related or something?” Keith wondered out-loud. Allura giggled a bit. 

“I’m afraid not,” She looked over at him. “After my parents died Coran was the only one here with me,” She sighed. “I suppose we are like family,” 

“I like your hair,” Keith said suddenly trying to steer this conversation from anything that would make him sad. “When I was younger I actually considered dying my hair white just ‘cause it looked cool,” Keith cracked a smile at that ridicules memory.

“Perhaps you wouldn’t look half bad with it,” She laughed. 

“You know,” Keith drew in a breath. “Last time I didn’t notice your little crown thing,” Keith said examining the golden forehead band that was mostly covered by her hair. “Is that why he calls you princess or something?”

Allura traced her fingers up towards it. “I suppose that’s part of it. My father gave it to me. When I first met Lance, he used to call me ‘your highness’.” She stopped her fingers for a minute and looked down at Lance fondly. “It was this little game we played. A back and forth kind of thing with another boy we used to know. He had white hair too… I think that’s where I got the idea for mine,”

“Oh, well, you guys are cute together,” Keith smiled. Allura paused a little before bursting out into muffled laughter. 

“We’re not dating,” She laughed still and Keith’s face a dull red. “He’s always flirting with me but it’s more of an inside joke than anything. I think of him more as my little brother,” 

“Sorry,” Keith stuttered a bit. “I just heard him call you Princess once and thought you two were together,”

She gave a small smile and Lance seemed to stir in his sleep, sinking together a bit more. Allura sighed and removed her hand from his head. “My hands are tired,” She picked up Keith’s arm and placed it on Lance’s head. As soon as it touched his short hair he yanked it back defensively. 

“What are you doing?” He whisper yelled.

“You’re angry with him,” She sighed as she much more roughly took a hold of Keith’s hand. She was much stronger then she looked. “Just scratch his head or he’ll wake up,” She said flexing her fingers. “And if he wakes up--,”

“Fine, fine,” Keith whispered not letting her finish her threat. He dragged his fingers against the scalp of Lance and he seemed to relax as the tension, that neither one of them had realized was building up, began to calm. Keith didn’t really care too much about it. His cheeks were still a small red but he ignored that and instead looked up at Allura who was staring down at Lance with an empty, almost bored expression. “What wrong?”

“He’s distraught,” Allura said not breaking her eyes. “He does have a dependence on drugs and can get paranoid, angry, and sometimes panicky when he’s craving them but this time wasn’t like that. He was just broken… Completely and utterly sad,”

“And how do you know it wasn’t because he wasn’t already on them,” Keith pressed. 

Allura looked up. “You’re angry with him,” she mused. “Why would you be angry with him he doesn’t owe you anything,”

“He lied to me,” Keith protested. 

“How do you know he lied?” She countered. “Did he say that he was on them?” No, he had simply said ‘sorry’ Keith noted but that was still a clear apology towards his promise. He didn’t like going into detail about his personal life, especially to a stranger. He was sort of glad when Allura continued talking until he heard what she said. “Quintessence isn’t bad… Don’t look at me like that, it’s not unless it’s completely pure. Certain amounts of it are actually pretty safe and have great benefits. It’s in almost every single medicine you take but surprise surprise pure quintessence is dangerous and only Zarkon and a handful of big titles know how to extract it completely from other materials,” 

“Why are you telling me this?” 

“You seem to be caught up in his addiction but fail to realize the story of why he’s on it,” Keith shook his head. 

“It’s not about that,” He huffed. “He’s hurting himself and he’s not even trying,”

“Again, how would you know that?” Allura countered. “I hate to be disrespectful to a new friend of his but you barely know him,” Keith retracted. That was true but he still felt angry, that wouldn’t change until he got a clear explanation from the person who got him angry, to begin with. “I have a place to run, I’m going to go check up on the others,” Allura pointed at Lance. “And don’t wake him up,” She said sternly flicking her hair behind her back and exiting the room. 

Keith listened to the click of the door shutting and the footprints getting quieter until they were completely gone. He looked back at the still asleep Lance. She was scary but he was impatient. He wanted to speak to Lance right now. His hands were still running through his head and he realized that he had unconsciously curled his fingers around a small piece of hair. He really wanted him to wake up so he gave that piece of hair a sharp yank. Lance almost immediately flinch and reached up to his head. His eyes fluttering open as he sat up. “Ow Allura what’s--,” he looked at Keith sitting there and visibly shrunk. He was still rubbing his head but he looked down at the floor. “Oh... hey Keith,” 

Keith didn’t react instead he only stared at him. “I want an explanation,”

Lance looked up cocking an eyebrow. “Explanation? For what?” 

Keith felt about ready to yank at his hair. “What’s wrong with you?!”

“I think we’ve already established that I might be a bit insane,” Lance looked ready to get up but was held down when Keith grabbed his wrist. 

“You’re not fucking insane,” He barked and Keith saw him flinch again. Why did he always flinch around him? “You’re mentally sick and you need to stop using that as an excuse for everything you do,” 

Lance snatched his hand back, standing up and Keith following his movement. “What do you know?” He growled back. “I didn’t do shit to you,” 

“You broke your own dumbass promise!” Keith screamed back. “God, you’re so frustrating,”

“You’re frustrating!” Lance sulked. “You almost made Pidge and Hunk really worried about me!”

“Good! They should be. You don’t even know when to draw your own limits,” Keith sighed. Lowering his voice, he finally spoke up again. “Explanation. You said it was circumstantial. I want to know how anything like this would be circumstantial.”

Lance gripped his arm. He looked away. “I took some pain medication,” He sighed. Keith was about to get angrier at the avoidable attitude to the direct question but he let him continue without losing his temper. “Quintessence is an ingredient in a lot of medicine but there are some that don’t use it. I usually try to stray away from the medicine with it in it because it might trigger something. I don’t know…” He sighed rubbing the back of his neck. “My leg was killing me and I just took some pain medicine without completely looking at what it was but my craving skyrocketed. Keith, you wouldn’t know but it hurt. It hurt so much so I’m sorry I showed a sign of weakness by trying to ease myself,”

“I’m sorry I punched you,” Keith said almost immediately after. “I should have listened to your full story and I had no right to hit you. I admit that was me losing my temper,” His hands were pulled in close to his chest but his hands were open, palms facing the ceiling. “I’m sorry,” Lance stared at him a moment but looked down at the floor with a small nod. “Having said that, you are not forgiven,”

“What?” Lance looked up again to see Keith had crossed his arms. “But you just apologized!”

“Yes, for hitting you. I admitted that was me being impatient and I had no right to hit you but that doesn’t mean I’m sorry that I got mad at you. Hell, I’m still mad you,” Keith huffed. “You’re the one that broke the promise remember? I appreciate your apology but I can’t just let you off the hook. Shiro used to always tell me stories about junkies and addicts who used to get pulled into the station,”

“I’m not a junkie,” Lance argued crossing his arms as well. 

“But you are an addict,” Keith smirked watching Lance pout a bit more. “And Shiro used to always say being too open for change will not create it. You have to demand it, make it something they have to choose,” Lance was left standing there with no way to say anything. Keith shrugged and began to leave the room. Opening the door his smirk dropped to a much softer tone smile. “So make up for this. I’m still kinda mad at you but I get it’s hard to just change. Don’t think this changes anything. We’re gonna talk about this more tomorrow when both of us aren’t crawling with distaste,” He left with a small click of the door as he shut it. 

Lance was left standing there in what he saw as an open field. After simply staying silent for a bit he let out a huff as a smile appeared on his mouth. “PFT,” He began laughing until he was on the ground again. “You see! This is what I have to put up with. How is he so nice yet so irritating all in one conversation?!” Lance looked over at the man that was this time acquainted with a huge black lion behind him. A warm smile present on his face. Legs crossed and leaning on said lion.

“Who knows?” Shiro laughed and looked up at the lion. “So this is the spirit world?”

“Yeah,” Lance smiled. “You can finally see Black and old Blue too!” Lance said smiling up at Blue who was laid across the grass. “Think of it like a holodeck. It’s technically not here but you’re still… here,” 

Shiro chuckled a bit in confusion. “It very lovely but does that mean…” 

“No, you’re still fine as far as I can tell,” Lance smiled. “Also… thank you,” Shiro cocked an eyebrow. Lance’s face seemed to redden a bit and he gave a shy laugh. “I heard you talking to me right after I came back into my house. Lotor was talking to me at the same time and so I wasn’t really focused on your words but I heard you. Thanks for trying to calm me down,”

Shiro smiled softly, nodding. “Sorry I couldn’t do much,”

Lance smiled as well. “Truth be told I remember you all the time on the T.V. I remember wishing I could be like you helping people; getting them away from the Galra. I’m sorry they did this to you,”

Shiro let out a loud sigh. “Don’t be. It wasn’t you. I’ve accepted it.” Lance internally groaned. “And although I’m flattered by your praise I don’t think I deserve it. The people that I’ve helped are so much stronger than me. If anything, Lance, help as many people as you can. You have no idea how much it’s appreciated. Heck, Keith was one of them,”

“Keith?” That caused his attention to spark. “Keith was kidnapped?”

“Thankfully no,” Shiro sighed. “Or I guess in a sense he was. I knew him for a really long time but after his dad was killed he was much more reliant on his mom and so she kinda dragged him into it. Can you see him too?”

Lance shook his head. “I haven’t seen any ghost around him except you and you aren’t really one,” Lance remarked slowly. “Wait so Keith’s mom...?”

“She’s alive but she needed someone to rely on and so she joined this thing,” He snapped his fingers in thought. “The blade of something. They used to be part of the Galra but they later built this whole organization about taking them down. Keith’s was kind of just left there as his mom was running off,”

“She left him?” Lance thought for a bit. That would explain why he seemed so angry when they mentioned her. “Should you be telling me this?” 

“Probably not but one of his friends should know,” Shiro smiled. “And you’re the only one who can hear me,”

“Wait Pidge doesn’t know? She’s known him longer then I have,” Lance argued. 

“I took in Keith relatively early in his teen years but it was way before he met Pidge,” Shiro explained. “You’ve been through stuff too, haven’t you?”

“I mean I guess but no one really knows--,”

“Now you have an excuse to tell someone. You know about his past let someone know about yours,” Shiro let out a long sigh and looked up at the sky. “We should probably leave. You’ll worry your friends,”

Lance looked around at the blue sky and open field. “Alright. Stay as long as you want here,” Lance tapped around until he found the exit opening the door a bit. “I’ll… take your advice,” 

Shiro smiled at him and gave a single nod in response letting Lance leave in comfortable silence. He closed the door and noted how everyone was gathered around Hunk. He sighed and leaned against the now closed door. “You took rather long to get out,” Lance jumped and opened his eyes to see Lotor hanging upside down, close to his face. 

“What do you want?” Lance said coldly.

“You know I hate being in there,” Lotor said who had finally sat up normally still in midair. He had a piece of hair in his hand and was twilling it between two. “It’s boring with no one to talk to,”

“I was talking to someone more important,” Lance smiled. 

“Oh, that princess or the boy with the red lion?” Lotor said finally looking up in interest. 

“Neither,” he still smiled looking at the door as if wanting to go back in. “It was the nice policeman, Shiro,”

“Lance, stop the gawking, he’s not worthy of it,” Lotor rolled his eyes looking back at his hair. 

Lance admired from afar. “Quite the opposite, I think he deserves so much more,” 

“Why?” Lotor didn’t move his head but he did look over at Lance with the corner of his eyes. 

“Because he’s helped so many people,” Lance said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“People like you?” 

“Yeah something like that,” Lance felt uncomfortable with the way this conversation was progressing. 

“That’s why you were never saved?” Lotor smirked when he finally got a reaction out of Lance. A simple glare But Lotor let go of his hair, letting it fall on his shoulder, and turned his entire body to look at him.

“Shut up,”

“I’m only stating facts. He disrupted our perfect little life,” Lotor hovered his hands over Lance’s cheeks. “I was killed and you were left alone. He saved many people except you. He even saved Matthew, didn’t he?” 

“Shut up! Don’t talk about him of all people!” Lance felt like throwing up. Too many memories surfaced altogether. 

“Now don’t get angry. He’s the one who lied to you, I never did.” Lotor innocently reminded.

“No! He lied to you, he never once lied to me!” Lance was beginning to shake. Blurry memories he couldn’t quite acknowledge about a boy that was dumped on Lotor. What had happened that he didn’t want to remember? A pool of Lotor’s blood and somebody whisking him away as he screamed in sorrow. 

“Yet he left you here all alone. He was saved and you’re still stuck here. Let’s face it, you were abandoned by him,” Lotor himself seemed sorrowful as well. 

“I wasn’t…” Lance choked down. “It was my fault… all of it,” Yes it wasn’t anyone fault but his own. He should have stayed out of it. He should have just let them leave. Zarkon had too much grasp on him though.

Lotor tilted his head. “Now don’t cry. It’s not your fault my father treasures you. Those eyes of yours… They’re what keeps me from being eternally bored and what keeps my father latched around your neck. Saving you was never an option,” 

“I know but I wish it was,” Lance wiped his eyes with a sigh. “Maybe I could have been if I had listened to Matt and not you,” 

Lotor kept quiet only staring at the ceiling for a small moment. “And maybe I would still be alive if I had let you go,” He stretched his arms cracking his fingers with a noise loud enough to make Lance cringe. “No helping it now,” 

“I guess not,” Lance finally shook his thoughts away and made his way to his friends who immediately pulled him into a hug. Hunk squeezed his sides painfully. “You had me worried sick. Are you okay? You didn’t do anything stupid, did you?” Lance chuckled softly. 

“I’m fine Hunk,” He smiled as Pidge punched his arm with a small smirk on her face. She adjusted her glasses and placed both of her hands on her hips. 

“You worried us you complete and utter jerk,” 

“Aw, were you worried about me too Pidgey?” He said gripping her cheeks and speaking in a baby voice. 

She smacked his arms away and smiled. “Just don’t do it again,” 

“Aye aye sir,” He saluted with a smile. Allura and Coran were watching from the counter smiling as Hunk pulled him into another hug. 

“You sure you’re okay? Something you want to talk about,”

“I’m fine buddy,” He caught eyes with Keith who was sitting at a table close behind Hunk and rephrased it as he closed his eyes again. “I’ll tell you later, okay, but right now let me just relax here,” Hunk laughed a bit and Lance sunk into the warmness of his best friend. He opened his eyes again and saw Pidge sitting next to Keith. Her arms were crossed on the table and her head rested in the middle of them. Keith with a cup wrapped around his hands smiling up at him before averting his eyes down. The same small smile present on both their faces. It was fond and made Lance’s heart melt. Then he looked up at Lotor flouting above them. Hands behind his head as he laid on the air. He was facing Lance with a neutral face until both concern and curiosity etched on his feature. 

Lance sunk into Hunks shoulder more as he fluttered his eyes close. Yeah, he wasn’t free at all but he wished he could stay like this forever. In-between good and bad. He would have to choose a side soon or perhaps he would be forced into one over the other but right now it didn’t matter. He just wanted to relax in the warmth his friends brought.


	10. Arms Tonite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Theme for this chapter: Arm’s Tonite by Mother Mother. (And yes, the title of the song is spelled tonite instead of tonight.) It’s mostly this song because of Lotor and Lance’s conversation that they have.

Lance was mixing things up again. Things began to blend together and his mind seemed to wander whenever the conversation seemed to stay stuck on a subject. “Lance you okay,” Hunk was snapping his fingers in his face and he snapped out of his daze and looked over at him with a quick smile. 

“Yeah, yeah of course,” He closed his eyes and took a gulp of air. “Um… what were we talking about?”

“Shay,” Hunk sighed. 

“Right, right, Shay,” He looked around again giving a sheepish smile. “And what about her?”

Pidge and Keith both collectively sighed. “Dude we’ve been talking about this for a solid ten minutes,” Keith crossed his arms

“Shay is tangled up with the Galra,” Pidge sighed. “Her brother was talking to us and apparently, her family is a bit in debt,” Lance hissed a bit. 

“Never a good idea,” Lance sighed. “How much does she owe? I’m sure I can take care of it,” 

“That’s the thing, she doesn’t want you to take care of it,” Hunk sighed as Lance tilted his head a bit in confusion. “We always ask you for money,” 

“That’s the one thing I can offer,” Lance smiled childishly. 

“Lance it’s not that,” Pidge sighed. 

“We always dump stuff on you,” Hunk sighed. “I don’t want to do that to you,”

“Buddy it’s just money,” Lance tried to smile but saw the way Hunk only sunk his head. 

“I already asked Coran to help me so we’re just gonna figure it out ourselves,” Lance’s smile faltered. “Don’t worry about it,” Hunk offered a smile again.

Lance looked over at Pidge who only smiled gently and at Keith whose head was rested on the table. Keith stared back hearing a small ding come from his phone he pulled it out as he sat back up. Lance snapped his eyes away.

“Well alright but if you need help with anything call me,” Lance commented.

“Well I hate to break this up but I have to go,” Keith stood up still looking down at his phone. “Lance I’ll swing by your house later so we can talk about… you know, but something’s come up,” He moved past a bit in a rush. All eyes focused on him a bit in curiosity. 

“I need to go too,” Lance said getting up. “I worried you guys, I’m sorry,” 

“Don’t be,” Hunk said smiling. “I’ll see you in your house later alright?” Lance smiled at him. 

“Yeah me too but you better be there,” Pidge warned. 

“Actually I might not be there,” Lance smiled. “I do have some things to clear up so maybe later in the night alright?” 

“Unfair!” Pidge banged her hand on the table. Hunk just chuckled. 

“I’ll see you guys, just later than usual,” Lance smiled

“Fake!” Pidge yelled as Lance made his way towards the counter and pulled Allura to the side. 

“The black lion is in the hospital,” He whispered suddenly before she could send him off.

Her eyes almost immediately rounded with a shocked expression. “No way,” She whispered. Lance nodded quickly and his smile made Allura grab his arms and smile as well. “No freaking way!” She clapped her hands and quickly grabbed a pen and an old receipt off the counter. “Write the address I want to see it too!” Lance chuckled at Allura’s enthusiasm. He wrote down the paper and handed it back.

“He’s actually really nice but you’ll have a hard time talking,” He chuckled and gave her a small playful kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow alright. Thanks for everything… and sorry about me,” She in turn smirked and simply punched his arm. 

“You have nothing to be sorry about it,” She placed the receipt with the address on it in her pocket and pocket Lance in the stomach which caused him to giggle. “Coran and I will look into him later today. Take care of yourself okay?” 

“You got it,” He winked at her as he turned around. “Bye Hunk, Pidge!” They waved in return and Lance ran out only to be stopped by Keith who grabbed onto his hand as soon as he made it outside. “Ow! Keith why the—,”

“Shut up,” Keith rolled his eyes. “How exactly did you get here?” 

“Uh my car,” Lance snatched his hand back and began to make his way towards it. Keith was following after him. 

“I thought you weren’t allowed to drive?” Keith cautioned.

“My motorcycle, that’s the only thing I’m technically not allowed to drive,” Lance made it in front of his car. “The glass makes the living and dead distinguishable,” 

“The living and dead,” Keith hummed as if processing those words. “And does your helmet not do that,”

“Nope different types of glass,” Lance hummed. “Now if you’ll excuse me—,”

Lance unlocked his car and made his way around. He got behind the wheel only for Keith to jump in on the passenger seat. “I need a ride,” He said simply as he shut the door. 

“Why of course your highness,” Lance remarked sarcastically. He laid his head on the steering wheel. “While we’re at it why don’t I just buy you your crown and make a feast for the entire country,” 

Keith turned his head a bit but only stared at him with the corner of his eyes. “Sounds like a plan,” He smirked. “You have more than enough money, don’t you?” 

Lance took in a large intake of breath with closed eyes. His hands flatly pressed together close to his nose. “Why did we have to meet?” Lance said letting go of his breath. “I would have been so fucking content with living my life,”

“Hey watch your language in front of his highness,” Keith smirked as he placed a hand on his own chest and placed his feet above the glove compartment. 

“Nope,” Lance pushed his legs down and pointed at the door with an almost exaggerated seriousness. “Get the fuck out my house,”

“This is a car,” Keith broke in as he chuckled a bit and Lance dropped his hand with a smile. “You seemed so dejected when Hunk seemed to reject your offer to help,”

He was. The one thing he could offer them was money and it frustrated him to no end that they wanted to solve this themselves but he wasn’t about to tell Keith that. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” He sat up and strapped in his seatbelt starting up his car. 

“Oh, so you’re actually going to take me somewhere?” Keith smiled.

“Don’t make me regret it, Mullet,” Keith rolled his eyes as Lance continued. “So where do you want to be dropped off,” 

“Hospital,” Keith sunk into his own seat as well. “I want to visit Shiro before I have to waste my life at work,” 

Lance laughed at that. “Yeah he’s nice,” Keith looked over at him in confusion and caused Lance to catch his words. “He seems nice I mean! To talk to… I would love to talk to him!” He finally finished his stumble of words and looked over at Keith. He hated not telling him, it’s not like he was dead, but Shiro didn’t want him to know and Lance really didn’t want to freak him out. 

“You’re like really weird, you realize that, right?” Keith announced. 

“Gee thanks,” Lance slumped.

“You’re like naturally fucking wired!”

“Okay, I get it,” 

“Like even Pidge doesn’t compare to the amount of weirdness you are,” 

“Dude!” Lance sulked and Keith just smiled at him. Lance sat up and began to drive away. “I don’t know why I’m taking you anywhere,” 

“Because you owe me,” Keith addressed simply. Lance let out a long sigh. 

“What do I have to say so that you’ll just forgive me,” He huffed tapping along the steering wheel and getting slightly anxious as he saw the way Keith stared at him. His hair covering his face with such carelessness it made Lance soften. Keith picked himself up when he realized they were getting near to their destination and began to drag his hair back. Strands not long enough slipped between his fingers and fell on his face. Keith felt the stare on him as he began to tie his hair back. 

“Eyes forward before we crash,” Keith announced not looking over at him. Lance quickly straightened up looking forward again just as he parked reasonably close to the hospital. Keith smirked as he opened the door and hopped out of the car. “I’ll call in a favor if I realize a way I can forgive you, until then, thanks for the ride.” 

Lance stuck out his tongue just as Keith saluted and slammed the door shut. Lance watched as he lightly jogged to the entrance and gave a sigh as he slammed his head on the steering wheel once more. “Oh seems like you’ve finally met your match,” Lance raised his head slightly to see Lotor now sitting were Keith once did. “Be careful with that one Lance,” 

“Yeah right,” Lance scoffed as he moved to sit up again. “This has happened before, if I ignore it it’ll just go away eventually,” 

“Or fester,” Lotor shrugged. “It always ends up festering,”

“Yeah but it always just goes away afterward,” Lance began driving off again, Lotor smirking on the passenger side. “I just have to give it time,” 

“And why not try it?” Lotor shrugged again. “He actually cares about you. What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

“He ends up killed,” Lance tightened his hold on the steering wheel. “Or I end up locked back up in your room,” He shook his head. “I won’t go back over there... Besides I prefer girls,” 

“Doesn’t mean you won’t with guys,” Lotor said still not looking at Lance. “It’s happened before it’ll happen again. You don’t expect to be under my father’s coat tail your entire life, do you?” 

“Why do you care about me all of a sudden?!” Lance barked back. 

“I’ve always cared,” Lotor scoffed. “I’m helping you make a wise decision,” 

“Yeah because any of this is a wise decision,” Lance was making his way back to his house and he watched as the buildings slowly got replaced with trees. “Stuff like this is what got you killed,”

Lotor was silent for a bit before turning his head to look at Lance. He played with the end of his long white hair as he sunk more deeply into the seat. “No, doing stuff like this with the wrong person is what got me killed. What, do you really care about living the life I never did?”

“I’m not trying to live like that…” Lotor glared at him. Lance didn’t mean to get him angry and he hated when he did because he couldn’t get rid of him and he yelled in a way that made Lance’s entire head ring. “I’m just learning from your mistakes, for my sake.” He softly added. He finally made it to his house where he promptly parked his car and jumped off. “Lotor can we just drop this,”

“Why?” He floated above. “I believe we still have much to discuss,”

“Lotor please,” Lance sighed stomping his foot to a stop and glaring up at Lotor. “For once just drop something. It’s my life I’ll do what I think is right,” 

“You’ll end up dead,” Lotor commented without missing a beat. “You only have a few years left as it is. Making these decisions like you can solve everything. Like you said before, learn from my mistakes but don’t repeat them, no matter how easy it is,” 

Lance huffed out a sigh and began walking back inside his house. “I’m not doing it on purpose,” He sighed sitting down on the couch with a stretch. He slammed his body down and looked up at Lotor as he floated above. “Do you think they care about what they did?” Lance asked him. 

“Allura, definitely, why else would she help you,” Lotor sighed looking over at the side. 

“Yeah, she always wants to talk to you, like actually talk to you by herself,” Lance smiled. “Why don’t you?” 

“It’ll be easier for both of us if we just try to forget,” Lotor looked back over at him. “Isn’t that what you said before? Healthy grieving?” 

“I guess,” Lance moved onto his stomach and dangled a hand over the couch as he began dragging his finger over the wood. “And what about Matt?”

“You should go to sleep,” Lotor commented. “It’ll do you some good to forget as well,” 

“I guess,” Lance was dejected again. “Do you think he’s alive?” 

Lotor hovered a hand over his head. “Go to sleep,” 

Lance only trailed his finger around the wooden floor still. “I think he is,” Lance whispered out the answer to his own question. Lotor watching him swirl his finger across the floor until a small piece of wood stuck his index finger. He barely flinched as he began to press his thumb hard against it until his whole hand began to shake. “Fucking traitor,” he sat up again with his finger in his mouth and Lotor with his eyes fixated on Lance as he picked at the splinter.

“Get a needle,” he finally added. Lance raised his gaze from his hand to him. “Take the splinter out and wash your finger,” 

Lance slammed his body back to lay down on the couch and looked at his finger. “Why? It’ll come out anyway’s. Just leave it there,” 

_“Lance,”_ The harsh tone made Lance look over at Lotor who was glaring at him. “Enough of your childish games,”

“You don’t own me,” Lance glared back. 

“I believe I still do,” Lance flinched at that. Not so much the words but at the tone. _“Now Lance,”_

Lance let out a huff of air and got up with closed hands. He did what he was told. Moving over and grabbing a needle to carefully remove the splinter. He did so in silence and when he finally got it out, poured rubbing alcohol on it letting out too much and listening as it splashed on the floor. Lotor watched the hostility in Lance’s actions choosing not to step in. Finally, Lance shook his arm to stop the stinging and to dry his finger. Placing a light blue band-aid on it, he admired the color. Hunk had bought him these and although he barely used them he did admire the colors they provided to cover up what was underneath. 

Lotor, seeing the end of that, opened his mouth to say something else only for Lance to suddenly grab Pidges green headphones, the ones made for him, and placed them over his ears and sunk back into the couch. “Don’t talk to me,” Lance grumbled, the hostility in his actions stuck to his words. “I’m your property, after all, I shouldn’t be speaking,” He mocked. 

Lotor would have answered if not for hearing the loud music blast it’s way to the headphones. Even if he said something it would go unheard just like everything else. So Lotor was left there with a huff of frustrated air and sulking on the ground next to the couch surrounded by complete and utter silence.

* * *

“So yeah, everything has been insane,” Keith sighed out the end of his story as he dropped his head on the edge of the hospital bed. Shiro outstretched on the bed with the black lion neatly placed on his bedside. “Allura and Lance say these hold some kind of protective thing,” Keith grasped his red lion between his fingers, looking over at the black one that he had moved to lay on the pillow next to Shiro’s head. “I still don’t really believe them but I hold hope. Maybe they’ll help you wake up sooner,” Keith smiled. “You really need to wake up, you have no idea how hard it is to keep up with all this money. Plus, I might be on the run from our landlord because I’m a bit late on rent,” He chuckled softly. “Not just that, I really miss talking to you. You probably can’t even hear me…or even if you can I’m probably boring you to death,” Keith got up and gathered up all the things he could. “I’ll stop by the station and tell them to come by and visit you,”

Keith looked at the door just as a nurse seemed to walk in. “Oh hello,” she gave a warm smile that Keith gladly returned. “I’m sorry I need you to step out for about thirty minutes,” 

“It’s fine, I need to head to work anyways,” 

“Work? So, young to be heading to work already,” She moved closer pulling in things that Keith had no idea existed. 

“Someone has to pay these hospital bills,” Keith joked. 

“Oh?” She seemed to sink before perking up once more. “Actually we’re holding a contest…” She faltered as soon as she said that before speaking up again. “Winner wins quite a lot of money,” 

“A contest for what?” Keith questioned.

“Um singing, mostly,” She smiled. “Other things are allowed too but rules always vary. This is our third year doing it. It really helps a lot of people,” 

Keith wasn’t really a great performer. He hated being surrounded by people solely looking at him. He really needed some money and according to Shiro and Pidge, who had snuck her way into a hearing, his voice was relatively good. He knew how to play guitar but he hadn’t been able to practice. “How many other contestants are signing up?” 

“It’s always a mixed number,” She smiled. “Ask Doctor Ryner if you’re interested, she’s close to the host.” She said. Keith nodded and made his way out of thought. 

If he could win this, then this would ease up these many bills that were slowly accumulating over his budget. He walked over to the front desk and asked for Dr. Ryner who came shortly after. She appeared. An old strong-looking woman with her hair tied in two parts made her way towards him. “I was told to come to you to hear more about this competition that you’re holding?”

“Oh has news already began to circulate,” She chuckled a bit pulling things from her clipboard back until she finally unclipped it and pulled out a piece of paper. “I was told not to talk about it by the host. He has made it clear to only have fliers up with all the necessary information and nothing more,” Keith took the now outstretched paper in his hand not bothering to look it over as Ryner continued to talk. “I would highly recommend you enter, you lose nothing from it,” 

Keith let out a soft huff of air and looked down at the paper once before beginning to fold it and place it in his pocket. “Thanks, doc, I’ll think about it,” 

He was about to turn back around to leave only to be stopped when his attention was drawn towards a woman with white hair in a hospital gown being dragged off as she screamed about something Keith could really make out. Her eyes snapped towards him and Keith shivered when this woman seemed to smile at him. “The red paladin,” She scoffed. “Have you returned to see that sleeping brother of yours?” She laughed and Keith clutched at his red lion charm a bit to calm his anger. “You stole the red lion form us. I curse you just like I cursed him to never awake! Only I will see through his eyes! Only I alone!” 

Keith clutched his hands harder and began to make his way towards her only for Ryner to place a hand on his chest and speak to this woman. “That’s enough Haggar. You’ve stated your place please go back to your room orderly,” She did as she was told, albeit, with reluctance. 

“What’s her problem?” Keith hissed out. Ryner sighed at that placing a hand on her cheek in thought. 

“I’m not under obligation to tell you another patients information, as a matter of fact, it’s against the ruled,” She sighed again and faced Keith. “Please forgive us for that, due to overcrowding we had to take in a few patients from the psychiatric ward. She means no harm,”

“She just tried to curse me,” He replied flatly. 

“Don’t tell me you’re not a skeptic,” She chuckled. “She doesn’t understand what she’s saying. Everything’ll be fine,” 

“I guess,” Keith sighed out in discomfort. Did Lance believe in curses? He was an expert in stuff like this at least he liked to believe himself an expert. Keith never deemed himself a skeptic or a believer but right now he felt obligated to choose a side. “Well, I really have a go. Thanks for the flier and have a good day!” 

Before he got a reply, he was already running out of the door and slightly jogging in the direction of his job. At times like this, he was glad that everything was so close together to the point where he didn’t have to run so far to make it. He was a bit late considering he had been out looking for Lance then talking to Shiro for some time. The employees already there didn’t really seem to pay him any mind and so he quickly got changed into his uniform and began working. 

He worked a small local pharmacy that thankfully wasn’t busy most of the time. If someone came in it was for a specific reason and they had no reason to stay long. Keith found confidence in that but he had only gotten this job because how desperate, he was for any type of job that fit into his schedule. Halfway through the day, he had a break and he did what he normally did fidget with his phone until it was over. 

This time, however, he noticed a text from Kolivan. Kolivan barely ever texted him it was always a call when he needed to contact him. Keith found it strange but didn’t think too much of it. Apparently, he wanted to meet up. Nothing else was really conveyed in the message. Keith, once again, didn’t think too much of it. He needed to meet up with Kolivan anyways to fill him in on Blue. He took down the address listed in the text and promptly deleted it right after. It was a club, apparently, a really busy one at that. Apparently crawling with Galra and illegal activity that went unreported. 

This place closed at nine plus thirty minutes to close up and clean up so he would hopefully get there in time. Keith managed to leave just as it was about to be nine thirty. This club was apparently high profile which meant he had to dress the part. He had nothing in his house that even partially reminded him of something that he would wear. He had no time to go shopping nor money. He could always borrow something but no one would have things like that except maybe the only rich kid he knew. 

He hated asking for things but he didn’t want to stick out and he needed to be quick. He quickly grabbed his bike and made his way towards Lance house. He wasted another ten minutes. He made it in front of the door and gripped onto the key hanging from his neck. Nope, he still felt awkward just barging in so he simply knocked loudly and quickly. Lance was quick to the door with headphones around his neck and blanket around his shoulders. 

“Sup Keith,” He smiled as he swallowed what smelled like popcorn. “Didn’t expect you here so early,” 

“Hey, Keith!” Someone called from inside. Lance moved to the side and allowed Keith to enter. He caught eyes with Hunk and a girl next to him. Light brown skin, slightly lighter then Hunks, and dark freckles plastered on her nose and cheeks. Gold hoop earrings dangled next to her short hair. 

“Oh um hey…” Keith awkwardly waved. The girl got up and outstretched her hand.

“Oh, Keith, Lance, and Hunk have told me about you,” She smiled. He looked at them skeptically. Hunk shrugged sheepishly while Lance simply sat back down on the couch grabbing a bowl of popcorn. “All nice things of course! I’m Shay,”

“Uh nice to meet you,” Keith took the hand and shook it before quickly retreating. “Uh yeah, I’m sorry I really didn’t mean to barge into you guys hanging out,”

“No need loser!” Lance smiled up at him holding out the bowl for Keith to take some. “We were expecting you to show up sooner or later,” 

“Yeah about that, I’m not going to stay long,” He announced and Lance cocked an eyebrow for an explanation. “I just came here to ask Lance if I could borrow some clothes and now looking over my decisions I sound really selfish so I’mma just leave,” He quickly turned on his heal ready to leave but Lance placed a hand on his shoulder and yanked him back. 

“Calm down man,” He chuckled. “Of course you would want my advice to look amazing. I am a fashion expert and you are a hot mess,”

“Hey!” 

“Shut up,” Lance smiled. “Hunk, Shay you have my permission to pick whatever movie you want while Keith changes into something more suitable,”

“I’m right here,” 

“Irrelevant,” Lance said as he tilted his head up. 

“Yeah sure buddy,” Hunk smiled. Keith watched the two sit back on the couch and continue the chatter as he was dragged into the hallway and to the stairs by his wrist. 

“So they’re like a thing?” 

“Practically,” Lance scoffed looking back at him but continuing to walk up the stairs. “They both like each other they’re just too scared to be the ones to start things you know?”

“I can picture that… slightly,” Keith struggled to step into Lance’s room. He didn’t look around all he noticed was that out of all the rooms this one was by far the smallest and Keith wondered why.

“So what do you want to wear?” Lance walked over to his closet that was pushed the far-left corner of the room where a window would have provided light if not it being the night. 

“Anything really but Lance I’m kind of in a big hurry so anything will do,”

“Well geez you’re not really giving me anything to work with,” Lance smirked at him and began rummaging through his closet. “Is this like a fancy thing?”

“It’s a club but a high wasted one so I need to look nice but not over the top,”

“Club?” Lance perked up at that. “Which one? Oh, wait, I have something that I think would fit you. It’ll really go with your whole ‘I want to murder everyone here’ kinda vibe.”

“Please tell me I don’t have that kind of vibe,” Keith sighed 

“Sorry, I don’t make the rules,” Lance laughed and began to toss a small outfit together and onto the bed. “I’m assuming you just want to go there to have fun and not be bothered, right?”

“Yeah something like that,” He rubbed his arm anxiously. “I just need to meet someone. I’m not going to take long,”

“See, there you go!” Lance said presenting his outfit. “Not too formal, not to basic. Most of it was expensive as hell so no one will, like, stare at you,”

“Sorry I’m poor,” Keith rolled his eyes and looked at the outfit. 

“Now get changed and I’ll get you something else. Here are the shoes though,” Keith looked up but Lance was already gone with a pair of black and white shoes on the ground. Keith really didn’t like this outfit simply because it looked rather uncomfortable but he had nothing else to wear and he needed to get there fast. He slid on the black ripped jeans and the plain white t-shirt. It was relatively comfortable but the last thing was a rather stuffed black jacket. It was rather restricting around his arms and he knew that if he tried to zip it up he wouldn’t be able to so he let it simply stay open. Quickly putting on the shoes and walking down the stairs. 

“Wow, Keith you look nice!” Hunk smiled. Keith looked over to see Pidge sitting on the couch gawking at him.

“What the fuck when did you get here?” Keith yelled at her. 

“Like a minute ago, why the hell are you wearing that and what have you done with Keith, you emo freak!” Pidge yelled back which caused him to simply cross his arms. “No way does our Keith have such fashion sense!”

“Lance picked it out,” Shay smiled at her. “We all know Lance can pick out an outfit in like a few minutes,” 

“True,” Hunk agreed. 

Pidge hummed in response. “Alright but why exactly are you dressed like that in the middle of the night?”

“I have to meet someone at this club but I really should be heading out,” Keith turned only for Lance to yell at him. 

“No, I’m not done!” He ran forward and placed something on over his head. Keith flinched a bit and as a result, closed his eyes as Lance placed it on his next and snapped it into place. Keith rubbed his neck a bit and sighed. 

“A choker? Really?” 

“It’s just a plain black one,” Lance smiled. “Oh come on, you look fine in it,” 

Pidge was laughing on the couch with Shay sitting next to her. “You look nice,” She giggled out a confirmation. 

Keith huffed but ignored Pidge. “Well, anyways now can I go?” 

“Tie up your hair better,” Lance instructed. “It’s all crazy,”

“I knew it was a mistake coming here,” Keith sulked as he once more pulled up his hair more tightly. 

“I know right!” All their eyes moved towards Lance who was facing the T.V. No one in front of him yet he continued to talk. “I do indeed have skills.” He smirked placing his index finger and thumb over his chin proudly. 

“Who is it this time?” Hunk smiled at him. Lance turned his eyes to look at Keith before moving from one foot to another. “You know I was kind of asked not to tell anyone,” 

“What, why?” Pidge sat up on the couch. 

“Well they don’t think you’ll react well,” Lance smiled. “I mean they’re technically not even…” He shook his head. “It’s really nothing,”

“Oh come on you told us about the other British guy,” Hunk offered. “Lotor was it?” Keith tensed, once again he recognized that name. He would have to remember to ask Kolivan about it. 

“Ugh screw him,” Lance sulked. “He’s just tagging along to annoy me,” 

“Oh did you get in a fight with your imaginary friend?” Pidge smirked as well. 

“He’s not my friend,” Lance said ignoring the word just in front of 'friend'. 

“Now I’m sure if he can’t tell us he has a reason,” Shay offered with a smile. “But shouldn’t you be off Keith,” 

He snapped his fingers in realization. “You’re right!”

“What club are you going to?” Lance perked up. “I’ll take you because I’m assuming you’re going to go walking,”

“Um… this one,” He held out his phone to show the address. “But it’s really okay—,”

“Oh no, that club is like always packed!” Pidge smirked. “I’m a minor and even I know that,”

“Yeah Keith it’s going to take you hours to actually get in,” Hunk offered a sympathetic smile. “You should just move meeting places,”

“There is no way I can do that now I’m already late!” Keith let out a frustrated groan. 

“No, it’s okay!” Lance was holding out his hands as if trying to calm him down. He snapped his fingers. “I’ll make it up to you!”

“Make what up to me?” Keith asked dragging his hand down his face. 

Lance looked over at the three before finally giving a simple smile. “I broke our promise… But I’ll get you in the club really fast in and out. But you’re not going to take long, right?” 

Keith took a double take. “But how would you get us in any faster,”

“Dude, he loaded,” Pidge chuckled. 

“Lance has a way to call in favors from rather powerful people,” Shay smiled warmly. 

“True, and he’s got like a lot of contacts from everywhere,” Hunk offered. 

“But you won’t take long, right?” Lance strained a bit more. “I really hate that place,”

“I doubt it…” He faltered once more. “Wait are you serious?” 

“Sure,” Lance’s happy persona returned. “I don’t mind!”

“Oh come on don’t leave me here as a third wheel!” Pidge yelled over. Both Hunk and Shay blushed at that. 

“No minors allowed!” Lance yelled back. 

“You’re a minor,” Hunk laughed. 

“By one year,” Lance rolled his eyes. “Keith, aren’t you a minor too? How did you expect to get in?”

“I’m eighteen I would have been fine as long as I stayed away from the bar,” Keith crossed his arms. “But come on if you’re gonna take me I’m already like twenty minutes late,”

“Geez alright, mister grumpy pants. I guess I don’t have time to change.” Lance crossed his arms with a sigh. He moved back and grabbed some keys from the counter. “You want to drive my motorcycle?” he dangled the keys in front of Keith watching his eyes sparkle.

“Yes please!” Keith snatched the keys away with a grin. “Alright let’s go!”

“You better come back soon!” Hunk yelled. “And both you of you better not come back drunk,” 

“Please he’s already yelling at me,” Lance said motioning towards the wall. “Oh yeah, you can’t see him. Lucky, you can’t hear him either.” Lance scoffed with a warm smile. 

“That place is always crowded be careful Lance,” She tossed him a pair of headphones that were lying on the couch, the ones she made. “Too many things going on at once causes Lance to lose touch with reality more so than he already does,” 

“I’ll be fine!” Lance argued 

“Keith if he starts to do that take him out as soon as possible alright?” Pidge sulked into the couch with a sigh. “Don’t take to long or he’ll go into his own little world,”

“Alright, I will, bye!” Keith yelled as he pushed Lance out the door. Lance let out a complain but led Keith to his motorcycle in a slight jog. “So are you sure Shay and Hunk aren't thing?” 

“Duh dude” Lance scoffed. “They both so obviously dig each other but they don’t want to start anything. It’ll happen though. I have faith in them,” Lance smirked as they made it to the motorcycle. He handed Keith a helmet and Lance got his own flouting it above his head. 

“Are curses real?” He let out rather quickly. Lance stopped, his hands still above his head. “That was probably a dumb question sorry it’s just that something happened and she just looked so serious so I didn’t know who else to ask…”

Lance gave an unsure smile. “I mean they _can_ be. It depends on who throws it,” Lance shrugged as he slid the helmet on. “Only one person in this whole town that I know of can throw curses and she never leaves her room so I doubt it was her. I don’t think you should worry about it,” 

“Alright,” Keith smiled. “Don’t tell Pidge I asked you that,” 

“Oh no, I’m going to tell her as soon as we get back!”

Keith sunk. “Yup I expected as much,” Lance only smiled as Keith put on his helmet and got in the front. Lance sliding behind him and wrapping his hands around his stomach. Keith didn’t really care and only drove off as he did. Lance, although he had a strong grip on Keith, made him anxious as he slightly fell back to stare at the stars as they rode off. 

They got there quickly. Lance giving him instructions on where to go every once in a while, before dangling his head back once more. They parked right in front of it and Almost immediately Lance jumped off taking off his helmet. “Come on!” Right as Keith took off his Lance gripped his wrist and began dragging him off. 

Just as he was told the line was huge and Keith was not prepared to wait in it. He followed Lance as he quickly cut the line and made it in front of the door. Protests broke out but they went unnoticed by Lance. Keith looked back at the people waiting. He wondered how long it had been but before they could get in they were blocked by a bouncer who simply held out his hand.

“Who are you?” 

“Hm?” Lance tilted his head a bit to the side. “You don’t know who I am?” 

“Why would I care about some kid trying to sneak into a club,” Some of the people who they had cut scoffed and laughed. “Scram kid before I call the cops,”

Keith was getting both irritated and angry at the same time but he saw the way Lance was calm so he stayed calm as well. “One, you wouldn’t dare call the cops, not to a place like this. And two I’m assuming you’re new,” He chuckled a bit and the guard did tense up a bit but he kept his composure. “My name’s Lance. Lance McClain,”

“Lance McClain?” The bouncer hesitated a moment. “I’ve never heard of you,”

“I highly doubt that,” His words were dark and Keith didn’t know how to react to what was going on in front of him. “How about you let us in before I talk to someone more powerful than you,” 

“No way are you--,” He got smacked in the back of his head by a much older looking bouncer. That caused Lance to chuckle a bit. 

“Why, Mr. McClain!” He gave a sheepish smile. “Please forgive my insolent coworker! He’s new,”

Lance’s warm smile returned and Keith smirked at what was unfolding before him. “Of course! The new ones need to learn somehow. You should start by memorizing the V.I.P section!” Lance dug more into this man’s pride. Smirking up at him with those playful eyes and mischievous smile. “Don’t worry about it! This little conversation we had was fun just don’t pull it with any of the bigger arrogant ones. They won’t let you go so easily,” Lance gave a small salute and promptly grabbed hold of Keith’s wrist. “Now if you’ll excuse us,” A small groan broke out from the line and Keith followed Lance into a hallway leading to the actual door to the club. 

“That was beautiful,” Keith laughed. “God, I wish I had that kind of power towards people,” 

“You really don’t,” Lance smiled as he began to place both of his headphones on his ears. “Alright be quick, meet the person get in, get out. I really don’t want to stay here, it makes my craving go wild,” Lance announced as they stepped in front of the door. “Don’t stay by yourself, It’s dangerous okay? Use my name if someone does anything because some of them might think you’re an undercover cop,” Lance took a deep breath and turned on his music as he opened the doors. 

Keith stared at the flashing lights and dark room. The extremely crowded place packed people together as they shouted and music blasted in a way that made even Keith flinch. He stood there in awe as Lance visibly cringed at people so obviously using drugs and wondered why the hell would Kolivan send him here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I have to turn in my laptop and I’m gonna have to type up chapters through my phone now so just a warning if it takes longer than usual to update. And sorry if this seems like sorta a filler kind of chapter. I tend to just go scene by scene instead of skipping ahead. Hope yall dont mind!


	11. Heavy Dirty Soul

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: Heavy Dirty Soul by twenty one pilots. 
> 
> Aye an actual update. I finally finished!

Lance felt the sudden urge to get out but Keith dug deeper into the club and Lance only sighed as he followed him. "Keith," Lance yelled over the music. Keith turned and looked over at him rather impatiently. "Too many things are going on all at once," he motioned around his head. 

"Oh yeah, that's fine," Keith yelled over the music, his features softening. He dragged Lance to the center of the club and sat him down on a booth that was set up. "Just stay there and I'll be back in a little alright?" He spoke in a way that made it really easy for Lance to read his lips. He nodded in response which earned him a smile from Keith. "Stay here until I come back," 

Lance watched as he walked away and he looked over at the people sitting on both sides of him. They were usually couples or simply people who were talking and met there. Girls were linked around men's necks and some slowly flirting and getting closer. Some women uninterested and ignoring the men flirting with them. 

Lance smiled but covered his eyes with his hands. His mind was melding the two worlds together rather quickly. There were, unsurprisingly, a large number of ghosts here and their world was just as bright and colorful as this club. He groaned as the ghosts howls made their way past his headphones. "Why if it isn't Lance," he lifted his head to see Ezor dropping down and sitting next to him.

"Ezor, I didn't expect you here," Lance smiled. "This place is crawling with Galra are you sure it's safe?" She shrugged. 

"It's never safe. Wherever I go it'll be crawling with them," She smiled but Lance only saw the colors of her bright hair and the spirit world that was already mashed with his brain made her skin glow a bright pink almost like an alien. "Anyway, I'm surprised you're here. Is your mind mush right now?" 

"Practically," Lance groaned and watched as the flashing colorful lights turned into trees and bugs right before him. "I'm just not feeling well," 

Ezor hummed in thought. "Well, Zethrid and I are just at the bar. Care to join us?"

"I don't think I should," Lance answered looking around to see if he could find where Keith had gone to no avail. 

"Oh come on, one drink won't hurt," she smiled and fluttered her now yellow eyes. Lance's mind was trying to keep up with all the changes the spirit world brought. Alcohol would make the changes worse, more abstract more quickly. 

"I really would rather just tone out everything," he groaned into his hands. The music from the club had now turned into a simple mash of sounds. The notes changing the lights as they flickered between forms. 

Ezor hummed a bit. "You're taking in too much stuff at once. This happened last time, didn't it?" Lance gave a weak nod. The music forced both of them to yell to be heard but Lance was more worried about the trees that had suddenly sprouted from the floor. "So why do you come back? You knew this was gonna happen," 

"It won't be long," 

"Around this time you usually tend to lose touch with everything around you," she giggled. Not that Lance noticed. "What are you seeing?" 

Lance looked up. "A forest full of colorful and annoying bugs," he dug his face into his hands again. "You're all pink and your eyes are bright yellow," 

"Wow that does not sound pleasurable," yet she smiled as she stared at him. "Alcohol would speed things up. Just get a bit tipsy so your mind can stare through both of them," 

"You want it to grow faster?" Lance stared up at her in disbelief. 

"No I want it to settle faster," she explained as if Lance should have gotten it right away. "You're a lightweight. If you just let this happen it'll let you settle," 

Lance thought for a bit. The logic she was presenting was flawed in many ways because the more he led his brain on the more deeper he would be trapped in the spirit world. Maybe he would have realized that if he wasn't already fighting to keep himself here. "Alright, sure." he got up not understanding why he was sitting in the first place. 

Ezor smiled as she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the bar where Zethrid already sitting down. "Look who I bumped into," she announced with a smile. 

"Your ears are huge," Lance laughed. "Like a giant fuzzy cat," 

Zethrid glared at him only for Ezor to jump in front of her. "He's a bit out of it," 

"Wow I couldn't tell," she rolled her eyes.

"Here Lance, first drink is on me," Ezor smiled as Lance took the small shot glass and stared at the orange liquid inside. It was actually quite mesmerizing to him. Everything he saw brought about something new and to make it easier for himself he pulled down his headphones. From what he presumed to be whiskey, grew small clear butterflies. They fluttered around him in a way that caused him to giggle. 

"Are you just gonna stare at it or drink it?" Zethrid noted watching as he was memorized by something she couldn't see. 

How could he drink this? It was really cute so instead, he poured it down on the floor believing that it would free the butterflies that weren't truly there. Ezor gave a small shriek as she stepped back from the small splash it presented.

"I guess the floor it is," she laughed. "Wanna try another one?" Lance nodded vigorously and held out his hand awaiting the cup. The bartender didn't know who he was but he did know he was important. This wasn't the first time he had come here so he simply rolled his eyes and didn't protest to giving them another shot. Lance grabbed it and was slightly disappointed when nothing emerged from this one. 

"Hey, Lance, you need to listen to me," Lance lifted his head towards the voice that was suddenly there. 

"Your skin's purple," he laughed as he stared straight at Lotor who had his arms crossed. "Pointy ears and yellow eyes!" 

"Very interesting. You're getting too far from reality Lance you need to leave with or without that boy." Lotor warned with crossed arms as Lance finally seemed to talk to him. Lance lifted the small glass up to his lips in disinterest. "Don't you dare take that shot," he warned and simply to spite him Lance immediately tilted his head back and swallowed it, hissing a bit as it burned his throat. 

"I hate alcohol," he groaned but perked up at the world around him fixated on a much more colorful forest. "It's working!" he clapped. Lotor became more clear, the glare making Lance shut his eyes. 

"You want another one?" Ezor smiled at him. Lance thought for a second before shrugging. 

"Sure," he failed to realize what this would cause. He would have hated doing this but his mind was not really occupied with a conscious or common sense. "Can I have one that tastes better though?" he got a funny look but Ezor simply crossed her legs as she began to recite an order for the bartender to prepare. 

"Come on Lance you're better then this," there was a small huff of air that made Lance jerk his head back in confusion. Someone had obviously spoken yet he saw no one there. It was more of a foggy shadow that clearly didn't belong. 

Lance snorted. "Oreo," Zethrid and Ezor both looked over at him as he giggled at the wall. Lance watched as Shiro simply facepalmed. It was strange how blurry he seemed, almost like when you're in a dream and you can't quite make out who it is. "You know your brother's here too," 

"What?! Why?" Shiro seemed to glow at that. Lance gave an unhelpful shrug. 

"He wanted to meet someone," Ezor watched a bit memorized as Lance talked to no one. Other people watching him and backing up as this freaked them out. Some mumbling insults that Lance didn't hear and Ezor paid no mind to. Zethrid, however, seemed to growl a bit at those people. The order came up and Ezor passed it to Lance. He took a sip and smiled. "It tastes like fruit punch," he began twirling the straw and watched as the drink circled around the cup. He faced up again. "Do you want us to go look for him?" 

"Don't do that, just get out," Lotor scolded him.

"You know, just to spite Lotor let's go look for him," he began chugging the drink and slammed the cup down on the counter as he finished. "You want to help me find my friend?"

"If it somehow spites Lotor I'm in," Zethrid got up and Ezor smiled as she stood right beside her. 

"Count me in as well," she took another shot and set the glass back on the bar. "What does he look like?" 

"Like an emo version of Billy Ray Cyrus mixed with a K-pop artist," Lance laughed at his own joke still a bit lost in his own world. Ezor and Zethrid exchanged glances and Lance sighed. "Okay, no, I don't have a picture of him but his name's Keith. You've met him, remember?" he spent a solid minute trying to explain to them what he looked like without getting distracted by everything around him. Finally, he clapped his hands in succession as they snapped there fingers in realization from the past. "Alright let's split up and tell him to hurry up. 

"What exactly are you seeing?" Zethrid crossed her arms and Lance, seeing her purple skin and big furry ears, shivered. Ezor much less intimidating. Her newly pink skin seemed to blend into her colorful ponytail. Around them, flashing lights turned into animals and fluttered around him while trees and plants seemed to be blocking his view. 

"Aliens in a forest,"

* * *

Keith separated from Lance a bit reluctantly. Despite just getting here Lance already seemed out of it. He seemed ready to go and Keith felt bad leaving him there. He was sunk into his own hands but he assumed Kolivan was waiting for him. "Stay here until I come back," he yelled over the music. He didn't give Lance much time to nod as he was already turning as he looked for Kolivan. He didn't see him, he would have to go explore a bit more. He turned back once more to see Lance still sitting there with his head in his hands. Pidge didn't mention anything about not leaving him alone, surely he could handle himself so he spun back around and moved away. 

He looked over at the bar and saw no one from the Blade of Marmora. He wondered if anyone else he knew was here. He dove deeper into the club and was surprised at how much bigger it was then he imagined. He saw a few people, arms wrapped around each other, feeding each other a small white pill. He cringed as he thought of Lance. Maybe he should look for Kolivan with him but he wouldn't take kindly to bringing a stranger to their meeting. It would compromise both of them. Lance wouldn't do those things as long as he stayed where Keith left him. He took in a shaking breath and continued forward.

After pushing past people and spending about a minute trying to text him, he finally saw Kolivan. He was sitting in a lounge room, a drink in his hand and no one daring to sit next to him. He let out a long sigh and without a word sat down directly in front of him. "Wow almost fifty minutes?" he smiled at him. "I expected you to take longer," 

"I technically only took ten minutes to get in," Keith cocked his eyebrows. "Wait, did you expect me to be late?" 

"Of course," he smiled. "This place isn't a come and go kind of club. Only people who are invited by the owners themselves get to get in. Even then, it takes quite a while for you to actually come inside," 

"So you practically set me up to fail," Keith huffed. 

"Of course not," Kolivan sat up a bit straighter. "This was to test you. How you manage to deal with unpredictable situations," he smiled when Keith noticeably frowned. "So how exactly did you manage to sneak in?" 

"I didn't sneak in," Keith let out a sigh as he crossed his arms. Kolivan cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. "I made this friend and he just skipped the line and got me and him inside without waiting," 

He stared at him for a while before shaking his friend. "Bad idea. I suggest you cut ties with whoever it is let you in here," 

"What, why? I would think you would be thrilled that I managed to actually find reliable friends," Keith butt in. 

"I highly doubt that whoever it might have been was reliable, let alone a friend," Kolivan brought the cup that he was holding up to his mouth and took a long gulp. He looked back at Keith who was glaring at the floor in thought. "Keith you must understand what this place is. The only people here allowed to, not only simply walk in as if nothing, but could manage to bring you in without complaint are people associated directly with the Galra," 

"He used to be," Keith tried to explain. "He was just addicted to quintessence is all though," 

"Measly customers aren't allowed such privilege," he shrugged watched as Keith crumbled his fist a bit in frustration. "Not necessarily a Galra but close enough to warrant special treatment. I suggest not getting involved, they're most likely working with the Galra," 

Keith had a hard time believing that. He was practically harmless and acted like a child with an imaginary friend half the time. His own personal secrets that he didn't dare tell anyone. He even said himself he hated this place. He had never mentioned the Galra to Lance beyond his addiction though. He really didn't want to bring it up. He quickly tried to change the subject. "I'm assuming you didn't just make me come here to test me so why'd you call?" 

"Don't avoid the topic, Keith. He's dangerous is all I'm trying to tell you," Kolivan sighed. "But no I didn't simply call you here because of that. We sent you to the base to do what?" 

"To gather information," Keith answered simply. 

"And what have you gathered?" Keith opened his mouth but closed it again rethinking what he was about to say. 

"Not much," 

"Understatement," Despite sounding calm Keith could make out the slight anger in his eyes. "Not only have you barely attained anything, you've raised more questions about his identity," he seemed to fall back once more. 

"I can't get information about a man that barely trusts me," Keith defended himself. "I've only been with him twice and his personality changes so drastically that I can't read him or understand when he's in a good mood," 

"This isn't about befriending him," Kolivan slightly raised his voice but regained his composure. 

"Well, I can't exactly get his trust without befriending him," Keith huffed. "I'm just doing what you told me! Christ, he killed off more then half of everyone sent there and sent the others away. Only five of us were left and he had one of us killed already for simply not wanting to be branded! I don't think I can just get his information," 

"Another spy has informed us that news around the Galra is spreading fast," Kolivan narrowed his eyes. "Blue has jumped in his ranks and the Galra aren't exactly happy. If rumors prove true you must not be caught for what they have done to other spies," 

"Was one of ours caught?" Keith paled. 

"I'm afraid so," Kolivan gave a sad look to the ceiling as he ran his hand down his hair. "Thace," 

"He was caught?" Keith whispered. "Is he dead?" 

"He's simply been caught as far as we know he's still being held in order to get as much information as possible from him," Keith didn't know which was worse: the idea of Thace being tortured or the idea of him being dead. 

"We can get him out of this though right?" In will honesty, Keith wasn't as concerned as he portrayed himself but he knew how the blade worked. If need be so they would leave even there own stuck in Zarkons hands.

"That is still under question," Kolivan admitted. "For the time being, I believe you should stay focused on your own mission until we've managed to track him down. I've told you simply so you would watch yourself and would keep an ear out for any new information that might leak through the cracks." 

"We really can't do anything?" Keith strained. He was bouncing his leg and gripping his hands together tightly. 

"As of right now, no." he seemed to notice the way Keith was tensing up and took in an intake of breath. "That means you as well. Do not engage in any unseemly actions because of this. I'll make sure to keep you under much closer protection but you must watch yourself, especially now that you're close to Blue," 

"...I'll make sure to watch my actions," Keith said after a small moment of silence. "Not that Blue would care what I have to say about this. Should I ask him?" 

"Definitely not," he answered immediately. "We don't have enough information on his to see if he truly is an honorable Galra,"

"He's Zarkons righthand," he scoffed back. "Why wouldn't he be?" 

"Most if not all members of the Blade of Marmora were once Galra. Some of them willingly who had simply turned the wrong leaf in their upbringing but there are some that were not there by choice. We've helped who we could but the few not brought into this by choice are still there. Children were taken from their home and brainwashed into this way of thinking," 

"And I sympathize with that but he doesn't look like a kid anymore. What'll happen if he's already too far gone? Even if he was taken," Keith mumbled the last sentence. 

"We have to take him down no matter what happened in his past but how we go about that is up for more questioning." Kolivan raised an eyebrow at him and gave a small chuckle. "For someone with a relatively tragic past like yourself, I'm surprised you're less sympathetic about this than others," 

"I'm not the one who's killing innocent people," Keith hissed. 

"No one is ever truly innocent," Kolivan shrugged. "What was that saying your mother used to always say?" he gave Keith a sideways glance to see his fist crumbled up at the mention on his mother. He snapped his finger in realization. "'The road to hell is paved with good intentions,' right?" 

"That's what my dad used to always say," Keith spoke through gritted teeth. "Krolia used to always say, "Hell is full of good meaning, but Heaven is full of good work," 

"Both meaning the same thing," Kolivan pondered. "You deem yourself good under the actions you have taken to stop this and the Galra bad for their intentions but what about those with no choice? We have no idea who Blue is nor do we know if he is truly a Galra or not," Keith let out a long sigh. "You are not to engage in Blue and as for your status, don't blow your cover," Keith nodded. 

"Is that all you need to speak to me about?" Keith wondered how Lance was doing. He really didn't want to spend unnecessary time here. He quickly glanced down at his phone. Not much time had passed. 

"Have somewhere to be?" Kolivan questioned with a smile. "You may leave if you wish but don't take my advice lightly," he got up as well ready to leave. The music that was going mostly ignored stopped momentarily and outshouted a voice announcing a singer who was gonna come on stage to sing. Keith hadn't even realized there was a stage. He looked over but too many people were there not making the stage visible, not that he cared. 

"Ugh do they ever shut up," he groaned a bit. He knew this song and the voice sounded familiar despite it obviously not being the original artists. It was going too fast for Keith to pick up on the voice though. 

"People like this are those you should steer clear off," Kolivan warned. 

"I don't think I should be worried about some singer in a nightclub," And as Keith said that the voice softened from the fast rap to a much more somber tone and switched once more to a pleasant beat. 

"You'd be surprised. Like I said before, only certain people get big enough privileges like this. You should learn to distinguish things like this," Keith nodded and turned on his heel to walk towards where he left Lance. 

He was mumbling the lyrics of the song under his breath. "Can you save my-- can you save my heavy dirty soul--for me,"  
Kolivan was following after him and listening to the song as it switched back to its fast pace. Keith finally made it to the couch that he had left Lance on to find him gone. "Lance?" he whispered and began to frantically look around at where he could have gone. 

"Whats wrong?" Kolivan interrupted him. 

"My friend. He's not here." he was searching about but began to ultimately climb on top of the couch to see if he could get a better view of the whole place. 

"Well, I'm sure he'll be fine on his own," 

"No, he really won't." Keith was looking around, the music still loud in his ears which caused him to look over at the stage he could now see. His face noticeably paled as he hopped off the couch. "Oh, shit...," 

"What's the matter this time?" Kolivan sighed as he followed after Keith who was running towards the stage. 

"Pidge is gonna kill me!" he yelled over the loud music that was now back to its upbeat side. "Kolivan I'm fine, I just need to find my friend," he said despite knowing exactly where he was. "You can go out first. He gave him a curious look but ultimately shrugged. 

"Stay safe," he waved goodbye and Keith offered an unsure smile. As soon as he was out of sight Keith turned back to the stage where Lance was smiling widely with one hand around a microphone and one holding Ezor as they danced and stumbled around the stage. Both laughing and Lance so obviously drunk. 

Keith began running and pushing past people as he called Lance's name. "Lance I swear to god--!" Keith mumbled in frustrated as he was pushed back for the umpteenth time. The music had calmed to only instrumentals as Lance moved to the tip of the stage and closed his eyes. 

"Death inspires me like a dog inspires a rabbit." As he said it again Keith noticed he was much closer. He could probably yell out his name to be heard now. Lance opened his eyes and his smile was just as wide as before. "Can you save--" He hit his hip to the beat causing everyone to clap their hands and promptly drown out Keiths cry. 

"Goddamn it!" he pushed passed everyone not bothering to apologize. Now at the corner of the stage, he put both hands down on it ready to jump up there only for a bouncer to grab his hands and pull them off almost immediately. "No disturbance," he growled at him. "We were asked not to let anyone interrupt them,"

"And you follow his orders?" Keith questioned. Did Lance really have control over people like this? Why would he? He was just some measly kid who still isn't even a legal adult. All he had was money, maybe he bought his status. 

"You need to get down," the bouncer ignored the question which caused Keith to glare at him. He grabbed ahold of the bouncer's wrist and placed it quickly on the stage. He jumped up onto it and kicked the bouncer in the face as he stumbled onto the stage. This had caught the attention of others and so he was now being stared at as more employees seemed to come closer. 

He saw Lance singing the last few lyrics of the song. He looked so calm and tranquil. His eyes closed and he parted his lips only enough to get the right tone out. He was smiling and for a moment Keith was mesmerized as they stood on stage until the music ended and found himself being grabbed by both arms. He struggled for a bit and tried to kick them off of him. 

"Get these assholes off of me!" he yelled. Lance and Ezor's attention was caught at that. One of the bouncers looked concerned with Lance's noticeably unfocused gaze. 

"Oh, Mr.McClain please forgive this disturbance," he put his hand on top of Keith's head and pushed it down forcing him to stare at the floor. His hands still being held by the others tightly making his shoulders ache at the awkward position. "He simply managed to sneak onto the stage. We will have him--" 

"Red!" all their eyes went to look at Lance. His arms outstretched and a huge smile plastered on his face as he looked back at something above them that they couldn't see. "Blue had been going on about seeing you so that means--" Lance bent down to have a better look at him. "Keith, I've been looking everywhere for you!" 

"That's nice but could you maybe tell these people to let me go," he gaped a bit. 

Lance looked up only momentarily, dropping all warmness from his face as he glared up at them. "Let him go now." 

"Of course!" the bouncer he had kicked immediately let go. Why did that act like this? Keith glared, rubbing his wrists as he noticed the way everyone seemed to look away and just follow along with Lance's orders. He looked back over at the others to see Ezor's arms wrapped around his neck and Zethrid simply rolling her eyes at that. 

"You still got it, boss," she giggled into his ear. Lance paid no mind to that. He instead pushed her off as he wrapped his arms around Keith's neck. 

"Keith finally!" he sighed. "I'm getting yelled at for letting you come here,"

"Yelled at by who?" Keith questioned as he pushed him off which was ineffective as Lance just seemed to be falling forward. Keith scrunched up his nose and interrupted Lance before he could answer his question. "Jesus Lance you smell like alcohol. How much did you have to drink?" 

"I have no clue!" Lance laughed and laid his head on Keith's shoulder. "I wanna go home," Keith, let out a sigh. He felt guilty but right now he didn't really know what to do except take him out of this place. 

"Alright come on, let's go back to your house and you can sober up, alright?" He lifted his head just as a purple light flashed and as soon as it did Lance almost instinctively slapped Keith across the face. "Ow! What the fuck!" he yelled as he clutched onto his cheek. 

"You were turning purple!" Lance yelled quick to his side as if just now realizing what was going on.

"It was a light!" Keith yelled and noticed that eyes were still on both of them flickering between amusement and confusion. 

"No, you were turning purple!" Lance argued. He shook his head and began walking off. "I don't like it up here anymore," he walked closer to the edge of the stage and simply didn't stop. 

"Lance watch out!" Keith grabbed his hand just as he stepped down carelessly. Just that small support didn't help him though all it did was pull him back as he fell causing his back to scrape across the edge of the stage. He involuntarily arched his back as the pain shot through his spine and he closed his eyes involuntarily. Keith jumped off the stage then and turned him around to see his shirt slashed open and he assumed he was hurt. "Lance, are you alright?" he asked as he turned him around. 

"It'll take more than that hurt me," he winked back. "Oh, you shut up!" Keith jumped at the outburst and followed Lance's gaze to see a couple questioningly stepping back. 

"Okay so I'm assuming you're seeing things," Keith sighed. "I don't think being here is gonna do you any good." 

"Let's go home!" Lance yelled out triumphantly. Keith nodded with a small hum and Lance turned back to the stage and waved wildly. "Bye Ezor! Bye Zethrid!" they gave a small chuckle but gave a wave in return as well. 

Keith moved him around the bar trying to guide Lance who was getting distracted by both what Keith saw and what he didn't. "What are you seeing exactly?" Keith let his curiosity ask. 

"A forest! A big one with trees and plants and a river. Blue and Red walking beside us." Lance answered confidently. 

"Blue and Red?" 

"Our lions," Lance smiled. Of course, that's what he meant. Blue and Red were some measly lion necklaces to him. "You see that over there," Lance said pointing to his left where a couple was currently making out. "Cannibalism," Keith snorted at that. 

They finally made it to the exit where Lance almost immediately ran out and spun around before facing the stars. "Look at those!"

"Mhm," Keith ignored him as he finally led him to the motorcycle. "Come on Lance. Get on," Keith didn't really feel safe simply letting Lance get on because even now, despite not moving, Lance was already unfocused on his grasp and was mindlessly looking around at the trees and stars that seemed much brighter to him. Keith let out a frustrated groan before getting a small idea. Pulling off his shoelace he grasped onto Lance's wrists and held them around his stomach. Lance noticeably flinched and straightened at that. Ignoring it, Keith then began tying his wrists together not too tightly but well enough that Lance didn't seem to be able to let go of him. "Is that fine? It's not hurting your wrist right?" 

Lance wasn't paying attention however seemingly accepting it and continuing to look around. Keith began driving out but almost immediately noticed a new problem emerge. Lance was unfocused on his grasp but he was also unfocused on keeping still. Instead, he would move his body in all different directions to look at something or because of something else that had caught his attention. This caused Keith to begin losing balance to the point where he would almost fall over at the sudden and unexpected weight being added to his side. 

He pulled over when he accepted that this wasn't going to work. He untied Lance who promptly jumped off and spun on the side of the road. "We're home!" 

"Nope still quite a while away," Keith sighed. 

"Boo, you said you would take me home," he pouted. 

"It's your fault you almost knocked us over," 

"I object." Lance crossed his arms and sat down on the ground. 

"Object to what? Fact?" 

"Yes!" he slammed his body back and look up at the sky lifting his hands and playing with something that seemingly moved around them and that Keith couldn't see. 

He let out a groan and sat next to Lance. What could he do? He really didn't want to worry his friends but he saw no way in getting back without raising a couple eyebrows. He looked back at Lance who was giggling up at nothing and brought out his phone.

He waited for only a bit before a small click went through. "Hunk?" he had gotten his number when they had first met but right now he only called him because he hoped he would react more calmly. 

"Oh hey, Keith are you guys done?" like always he sounded so cheerful. 

"Yeah, we are." Keith looked over at Lance who was now trying to catch fireflies. At least he could see them this time. "We kind of need a ride though," 

It was silent for a moment. "Why? Don't you have Lance's motorcycle?" 

"I do but he's not exactly working with me. He keeps--" 

"Who are you talking to?" Lance interrupted. 

"Just Hunk," Keith regretted admitting that as soon as Lance's eyes sparkled. He snatched the phone and scurried away before Keith could grab it back. 

"Hunk! I miss you!" Keith face-palmed and let out a long sigh as he tried to piece together his conversation. "Yeah, but he won't take me home... Maybe a little. Zethrid gave me like two shots and kept ordering me drinks while Keith wasn't there," oh shit. Keith was about to make a move to grab the phone and try to explain himself. "Pidge! Are you still over there too?"

"Somebody kill me. Just end me before Pidge gets to it." Keith shivered and finally snatched his phone back. "You can talk later can you guys just please pick us up?!" 

"Oh no, you don't get to boss us around!" Pidges voice spoke out. "We told you to make sure he doesn't get like this!"

"You can lecture me later. Just come pick us up it's freezing out here,"

"We're already on our way stupid," Pidge let out a long sigh. "I swear to god Kogane if he's hurt--" 

"Oh yeah..." Keith let out an awkward hiss. "He kind of, maybe, fell off the stage and scrapped his back,"

"Oh, god, is he okay?" Hunk spoke on the phone and he nodded despite knowing they couldn't see him. 

"Yeah he's fine, all I saw was a scratch," Lance was currently leaning in close to hear through the phone. 

"Alright we'll be there in a bit then," even Hunk sounded exhausted. 

Keith forced Lance to sit down and explain to him what he was seeing. Partly to distract Lance and keep him still and a part because he was genuinely curious as to what he saw. They simply sat there, Lance distracted by something only he saw and Keith listening to all the detail he gave when explaining what this place looked like. In a few moments time, Pidge and Hunk finally texted him that they were almost there. 

He got up and offered a hand to Lance. He sat up a bit as he was still staring at the sky. He looked over at Keith a bit in confusion and simply grabbed ahold of his outstretched hand without making any move to actually get up. 

"You know, I really like the stars," he admitted still not letting go of his hand. "It makes me feel a bit better knowing we're not the only ones here," 

"You seem sure of yourself," Keith chuckled. "I mean I believe in aliens but it's a bit scary wouldn't you say?" 

"Well we're either alone in this universe or not," Keith felt the way Lance gave his hand a small squeeze. "Both ideas are scary,"

Keith didn't know how to respond. "I wouldn't want to be alone,"

"I wish I could be alone. I don't think I've ever heard real white noise," he gave Keith a wide smile. "Too many ghosts," 

"Yeah, I guess it wouldn't be fair to you. Hearing all these things, that is," Keith slightly tugged at him and Lance got the message as he got up from the ground. 

"I like talking to you. We make a good team you and I," he chuckled just as the car pulled over and Keith quickly let go of his hand. 

Keith decided to simply drive the motorcycle back to avoid an earful from Pidge on the drive and Lance happily hopped into the car.

They made it first and Keith made his way inside the house where Pidge and Hunk were already setting up the couch for Lance. "Mister Rogers neighborhood?" Keith questioned as he looked at the T.V. 

"Shut up," Pidge rolled her eyes. 

"What she means to say is that Lance needs something to focus on that tame and not cartoons," 

"Nope I'm pretty sure I just mean shut up," she shrugged. Hunk rolled his eyes but ultimately ignored her. 

"Besides he really likes this show when he's like this," he motioned to Lance who was looking at the T.V. with wide eyes and a curious expression. 

"Yeah, and whose fault is it that he's like that?" she began having a fake coughing fit and between her cough she gave a small, "Keith." he, in turn, rolled his eyes and Pidge fakely cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses. "Sorry I don't know what got over me there I meant to say 'Keith,'" she portrayed clearly this time. 

"Okay yes I get it I fucked up!" Keith yelled.

Lance chuckled from the couch. "You guys are weird," he glanced over at Hunk who was passing him a blanket. "Except you big guy. You're awesome even though you're a rock," 

"A rock?" Hunk questioned 

"Yeah, a rock creature like Shay. Hard on the outside soft on the inside," he wrapped himself in the blanket with a sigh. 

"Speaking of where is she?" Keith questioned. 

"She had to go a little while ago," Pidge rolled her eyes and they both watch as Hunk left to gather something. "Something came up with her brother," 

"Hey, Lance buddy could you let me see your back real fast?" Hunk asked with a small first aid kit in his hand. 

He seemed to groan in discomfort at the question but ultimately agreed. He wrapped the blanket around his legs and covered a few inches above his hip. Pulling off his shirt, he fell back into his stomach and left it exposed. 

Keith retracted when he saw the huge scar that took up almost all of his back. The lighter colored skin was easy to spot even in the darkness and Hunk gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, I guess you wouldn't know about this," 

"What happened?" 

"Shhh," Lance complained from the couch. 

"We don't know either." Pidge shrugged and sat on the arm of the couch. "All we know is that Coran and him got into an accident a while back. Neither one of them likes to speak about it," she finished with a sigh. "You alright Lance?"

"I'm cold," he admitted. "I wanna sleep but L'Oreal won't shut up!" 

Hunk laughed. "Well, your back is fine you just got a really light cut," Lance began to feel his back with his hands. 

"Aye, I've got band-aids! What color?" he asked. 

"Pink, purple, then blue," he smiled. 

"My flag!" Lance laughed and wrapped himself back up in the blanket. "You wanna sleep over? I don't wanna be alone," 

"Don't worry Keith'll stay with you," Pidge answered and before he could protest she glared at him which made him sigh. 

"Fine, that fair," 

"We have to go home soon though," she continued. "We'll be here first thing in the morning with your hangover food though alright?'" 

Keith was a bit memorized watching as all three of them flickered between conversation and Lance noticeably calmed. How long did they know him? He would have to ask because the way he acted like he was in charge of everyone was still stuck in the back of his head. Maybe he was thinking too much into this but if he wasn't more things would rise from it. He really hoped he was wrong about this. Despite currently acting like a child Lance was loyal, courageous, and kind in a way that he hoped wasn't fake. 

Right now he didn't want to think about that. He wanted to just relax and not be caught up in the Galra. So he just sat there on the floor, leaning against the couch and watching the kids show that he always wished he could have watched as a kid. Hunk, Pidge, and Lance were all friends he made out from unpredicted circumstances but despite that, he really just wanted to stay here. Simply focusing on nothing and dozing off to the sound of his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aye, so I'm not even gonna make up excuses and these past two weeks I've only been sober for like half of the first week And hung over the other half so my therapist recommended me to get my schedule back in order and low and behold I got my first job! It's sucks but that's the price to pay for stability! Sorry if updates are a bit slower because of that.


	12. Why

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this song is "Why" by Ohwell
> 
> Guess who quit there job! I mean technialy I got fired but boy was I happy. So most of my stressrelivers are self-distructive and so i get irritated really fast and boyyy being surrounded by dumbass customers really didnt help omg...

A slamming of the door was what woke Lance up first. It wasn't so much on purpose it was just much louder than anticipated. He simply shot his eyes open at the sound. He looked around to see the glowing of the world around him. Everything was blurry but he saw a person near him. He disregarded this and, realizing it was safe, let his eyes flutter closed again.

The next time he woke up it was because of a loud crash. He opened his eyes slowly as to not irritate his head and saw a movie playing right in front of him. Keith was sitting in front of the couch knees pulled close and head rested on his chin carelessly watching the movie. "What are you doing?" Lance asked.

Keith flinched and quickly changed it to something that caught Lance's attention but neither less made him laugh a bit. "You finally awake?" he chuckled as he turned to look at Lance. He was still wearing the same exact clothes minus the jacket and choker. His hair down and the only source of light being the T.V. which granted him a light yellow hue to the side of his face.

"Nope," Lance answered thoughtfully as he continued to stare at the T.V.

"Still out of it I see," Keith sighed looking back at the show.

"How do you know I'm not just fucking with you?"

"Are you fucking with me?" he asked genuinely.

"I don't think so," Lance said with a shake of his head. "My head hurts"

"What are you seeing?" Keith moved his eyes to stare at him.

"The T.V. duh," Lance rolled his eyes and then looked over at him with a small smirk.

"But do you still see that jungle?" Keith asked finally turning his body to look completely at Lance who in turn scoffed.

"Jungle? What are you talking about?" Keith let out a relieved sigh but Lance finished his statement. "It's a forest stupid," Keith let out a disappointed groan.

"I guess in a sense I should have guessed that. You've only been asleep for like an hour,"

Lance squinted at a blurry figure that seemed to appear. "Red's here," he smiled.

"Red? ... Oh, you mean the lion!" Keith took hold of his necklace. "And what's she doing?"

"Nothing," Lance dug his head into his pillow. He closed his eyes again and felt another wave of exhaustion hit him.

"Get up!" his eyes shot open as he flinched back into the couch. Keith flinched too but was looking at him with worry.

"Are you alright?" Keith wondered. Lance groaned as the figure in front of him seemed to clear up.

"Oh no," Lotor stepped forward with a scowl. "You don't get to just fall asleep after that disaster. Look at you, you're still stuck in the spirit world for christ sake!"

"Maybe I wanna be stuck here," Lance blew a raspberry at him and turned on his side so he was no longer looking at him.

"Why would anyone want to be here?" Lotor got closer to him. So close that Lance shivered at nothing. "My father is going to be angry once he finds out,"

Lance shot up. Looking around he couldn't seem to find Lotor there. He looked over at Keith who was standing up and holding out his hands seemingly trying to calm Lance down. He whimpered and his eyes began to water out of fear. He dropped his head into hands and began to cry.

"W-what's wrong?" Keith got closer to him. He sat down on the couch, hands lifted but unsure whether to touch him or not. "Lance?" he placed a hand on his back feeling the slight bumps of the scar there. Lance flinched back and looked over at Keith as if only realizing he was there. "Does your back still hurt?"

"I'm... I'm fine." he wiped his eyes and sat up a bit straighter so that he could move away from Keith's touch. Offering a smile that seemed to relax both of them a bit more. "I'm still a bit out of it. You're still purple,"

Keith let out a huff of a laugh. "How am I purple?"

"You have markings all over your face," Lance moved a hand done the side of his face and moved it around his neck. All through here," he pulled his hands back into his lap. "It's actually kinda crazy,"

"No don't say that." Keith smiled as he nudged Lance softly with his own side. "Do you want to move to your room?"

"No, not really," He let himself fall back to lay on the couch. "I have a lot of stuff there and most of them would probably make things worse,"

"Well alright but are you starting to distinguish things from your mind and reality better?" Keith tilted his head and Lance stared at him for a moment watching as the lights from the T.V. flickered between colors to shine on only the side of his face.

He caught himself staring when Keith stiffened. He shook his head and smiled a bit to try and clear the awkwardness. "Yeah, yeah... actually no. Not really anyways. If it's not sticking out then I can't really tell you what's actually here," he shrugged.

"Do you remember what you actually did yesterday?" Keith questioned slowly. It made Lance feel annoyed at how he was talking to him like a confused child.

"I remember going to the club with you, getting shots with Ezor and Zethrid, then..." he thought a bit harder. "Then going off to look for you. I guess I found you," he smiled.

"No, more like I found you," Keith fell back to the floor and leaned against it with a sigh. "You were completely out of it and singing on the stage," Lance paled but Keith didn't seem to notice.

"Did I make a scene?" he shuddered.

"I mean you did get on stage so yeah I guess." Keith looked back at him and noticed Lance mumbling something under his breath while gripping his blanket tightly. Keith tried to understand what he was saying but it was so small and mumbled he could only make out small parts of one half of the conversation. "You okay?"

Lance looked back over at him quickly giving an unsure smile as he again began averting his eyes. "Yeah, I was just thinking out loud. Your clothes are where we left them if you want to change or you could borrow some of my clothes," Keith nodded. "When you wanna go to sleep you can sleep in any room downstairs just don't go upstairs, alright?"

"Yeah sure," Keith squinted at that.

"I wanna sleep," Lance announced. "Just for a couple more hours to let my head settle,"

"Go for it." Keith nodded as Lance settled back into the couch.

He waited a minute to make sure Lance had fallen asleep to change the channel. After flicking through the channel unsuccessfully trying to find something to watch he finally just opted to turn the T.V. off. He was honestly more caught up in what Koivan had to say about Lance. He couldn't possibly be associated with the Galra. Lance was too out of it, too far gone for Keith to actually believe he was associated with them. As far as he knew he didn't have anything that the galra would use. He could supposedly see ghosts but, even if that was true, it was practically useless. He was really rich, although he didn't know why there were plenty of explanations for it. Maybe that was the explanation for the club holding him in a high regard.

He really didn't want to think of this. Lance was a good guy end of story. Although he would make a mental note to ask about it in the morning. He got up from his spot on the floor and moved over to the hallway. He really didn't want to invade his house too much so he decided to just sleep in the clothes he was in. Finding a room to sleep, he simply let himself fall on the bed not realizing how exhausted he was. He stared at the ceiling for a moment letting his eyes gradually close on their own.

~

Lance woke up again. Lotor hanging his head over him. "It's morning. Wake up already." lotor rolled his eyes as he stepped back and allowed Lance to sit up.

He heard nothing in his house. "Is he--?"

"He's still here. He's just asleep," Lotor finished. "God, why don't you just cut these annoying friends out of your life already,"

"No, why the hell would I do that?" Lance scoffed with a stretch.

"You're going to have to one day." Lotor watched him, clearly not paying attention but vaguely listening. "Better sooner than later,"

Lance ignored him. He stood up and began moving around his house as quietly as possible. "Where's my phone?" he whispered as he made his way upstairs.

"I'm not the keeper of your things," Lotor crossed his arms as he followed after him. He looked at the things Lance was rummaging through and finally saw what he was looking for. He pulled out his phone from the pocket of the jacket he was wearing before.

"Oh no," Lance slammed his hand over his head and began shaking. "I'm a fucking idiot,"

Lotor cocked an eyebrow and moved behind him to see what he was staring at through the phone. He scanned the phone to see a text from an unsaved number that he knew as his father reading, 'You seemed to have fun last night. Once you've sobered up meet me in Lotors room,'

"Lance..." Lotor stared at it wide-eyed until he finally crumbled up his fist and let out an angry scream. "I told you not to get involved! I told you!"

"I was just trying to help him out," Lance whispered out rather harshly. He stood up and pocketed his phone. "We should go. We shouldn't keep him waiting," he quickly slid on a jacket while Lotor muttered insults and curses in his ear. He stumbled to put on his shoes and quickly picked up the keys to one of his cars. "Should I tell him where I'm going?" Lance said halting at the door to look back at nothing.

"Oh yeah I'm sure he'll take kindly to you informing him that you're out to meet the head of the notorious Glara," Lotor rolled his eyes.

"Okay calm down," Lance brought a flat palm up so that it was near eye level. "You're up here," he slid it down so it was next to his hip. "You need to bring it down here. I just meant to tell him that I'm heading out," he said placing his hand on his hip.

"Too many problems." Lotor shook his head. "The sun is barely rising it can't be more than seven in the morning. Let him sleep in or we'll have to deal with his nagging,"

"You're saying that like you're the one that has to deal with it," Lance rolled his eyes but neither less made his way outside. He closed the door quietly and made his way to his car. "What do you think he wants to talk about?"

"Does it matter?" Lotor sighed. "Just hurry up and go,"

Lance groaned out nervously. He really wanted to talk to him just because Lotor always seemed to know what was going to happen and it helped him prepare for what could possibly happen. Ad he was driving, however, Lotor made no attempt to actually answer him. He just sat there glaring the passing road as Lance drove off.

It took a while before Lance actually made it to Zarkons house. Hidden between trees so much so that he had deserted his car and opted to just get off and walk to the door. Once there he wasn't sure what to do. He could knock or just sneak in but he wasn't sure he wanted Zarkon to answer. He said to meet him in Lotors room so he made his way inside. It was unlocked, surprisingly, so all he had to do was push open the door to find himself standing in a place that the police had been searching for for years.

He was quick to run up towards Lotor's room. He stopped when he made it in front of the door, however. He had come here not long ago, just a couple days ago when he needed to begin the recruits on a new mission, but now it was empty and he felt so alone.

"Hurry up and go in!" he jumped at Lotor's raised voice in his ear. He stumbled inside and kept the door wide open. He needed to even out his breath from the panic that was suddenly arising. He sat on the bed and stared at the open door. He wasn't trapped here, he could get up and leave. He told himself that and just stared at the door waiting for it to betray him and shut harshly. He fell back against the bed placing his arm over his eyes and waited for Zarkon.

"You're still like this in here?" he quickly raised himself to see Zarkon stepping close. "You were fine the last time we spoke," He seemed to smirk and made Lance weak in the knees ready to throw up. One part because of the alcohol the other part because of his fear.

"Being stuck here for most of my teen years can do that to you," Lance gave an unsure smile.

"Are you not almost eighteen?" Zarkon rolled his eyes and lifted two fingers and motioned them for Lance to get off the bed. "You can't even be in a room without turning like this? Pathetic. Have I not taught you anything?"

Lance shrunk into himself but slid off the bed obediently. "No, of course, you have," he got down on one knee, a fist held to his chest. His head held down to not look at him. "It's simply because of all the memories that resurface when being here. Even though Lotor is gone, I see him clearly and it makes me uneasy,"

Zarkon bent down and put his thumb and pointer finger under his chin lifting it up to meet his eyes. The grip was tight and uncomfortable only making Lance even more unnerved. "I don't need your excuses. Your weakness shouldn't be put on a single room. I brought you here because of those eyes of yours yet you seem so hindered by them. What use are you if not that?" Zarkon stood up with a sigh.

"No, I'll be fine!" Lance nodded. "I'll be of great use to you I promise!"

"Is that so?" Zarkon suddenly lifted his foot and slammed it down on Lance's back pinning him down. He let out a pained grunt but stayed put. "So tell me why did you decide to go to a club yesterday and embarrass it? Here you told me you hated going to places like that, that's the reason I stopped taking you after all. Do you want to go back to training?" Lance shook his head and opened his mouth to say something as the foot on his back released him but couldn't form any words. "Answer me." it was low and threatening.

Lance pulled himself up on all fours still staring at the floor. "I... I don't know, I was just--" A foot slammed against his cheek making him fall to his side and grip onto his cheek.

"Hesitation," Zarkon crossed his arms.

"Hesitations means your coming up with a lie," Lotor sighed and glared at Zarkon. "Lance stand up and tell him,"

Lance did as he was told. Grunting as he pulled himself up. "I made a friend," Zarkon rolled his eyes. "He just needed my help getting in fast,"

"Oh is that so?" He grabbed hold of Lance's hair and forced him to look at him. "Now why not just wait in line?"

"You know more then I do that if you're even a minute late you'll never get in my waiting in line." Lance rubbed his head once Zarkon let him go. "I'm allowed to just go in and so I just brought him with me,"

"And do you know why he needed to get in?" Zarkon was back on his cheeks. Squeezing them so tight it forced him to open his mouth.

"He was just meeting someone!" Lance managed out.

"And who was that?" He looked over at Lotor. He was glaring at Zarkon angrily but shrugged at the question.

"I don't know. He kind of just left me and I was so out of it that even if I had met them I wouldn't have remembered," Lance let it out in a rushed whisper.

"Idiot," He let him go and moved over to the bed where he moved an open laptop from the counter on his side. "Come here and look at this,"

He moved over to the bed cautiously. Zarkon allowed him that and simply tilted the screen so that Lance could easily see it now. On the screen, he saw black and white camera footage. He pushed his eyebrow together in confusion before he saw himself and Keith approach the front.

"Is that...?" Lotor hovered close to the screen and Lance gulped down nothing.

"Camera footage from last night," Lance began to play with his hands watching himself on the screen just as Keith left him alone. "Why is this relevant?"

"I want you to see the man he meets." They both looked down at the screen once more.

Lance watched the way the cameras flickered between perspective and watched Keith as he hesitantly kept looking back. Lance appreciated his worry but right now he was focused on what Zarkon was talking about. It took a while but Keith finally did sit near a man that Lance had never seen. He had a braid and a huge scar over his right eye that Lance could tell blinded him. He tilted his head trying to make out what they were saying. Throughout it the man seemed calm and reserved, Keith, however, seemed to flicker between a few emotions. He seemed frustrated, angry, scared, and sad. The way he seemed to speak to him seemed a bit familiar. Finally, they got up to walk off and Zarkon pulled the laptop back.

"Why did you show me that?" Lance questioned still fiddling with his hands.

He, in turn, seemed to sigh. He threw him something unexpectedly, making Lance hit it between arms before finally catching it. It was a mask, a blue lion one that was wrapped in a black cloth. "Bring him in!" Lance jumped and looked over at the door where he was beginning to hear shuffling. He was quick to place the cloth over his nose and mouth then quickly placed the mask over his eyes. Lotor got in front of him blocking his vision before he could see who came in.

"I really don't think you want to see that," Lance stepped to the side to see only for Lotor to once more get in front of him. "Lance I really don't think you'll--"

"Out of my way, Lotor!" Lance glared up at where he was currently floating, well aware of the strange looks he was getting and the curious look Zarkon was giving him.

Lotor let out a huff. "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you though," he moved and Lance's eyes caught on a rather brutally beat person. His skin light and his hair dark black with a small streak of white and a short beard. His hands bound in front of him left horribly bloody wrists visible.

"Blue..." the man huffed out between gritted teeth. "Have you grown so tired of me that you've transferred me over to this one?" Zarkon waved his hand to dismiss the others who had dragged him in. They bowed and closed the door as they made their way out.

"Who is this?" Lance looked back over at Zarkon.

"He's a spy that goes by the name of Thace. He apparently knows the man in the video," he got closer grabbing a hold of his chin and Thace snatched his head back. "So far that's all he's willing to confirm."

"So do you want me to try and make him tell me things?" Lance said that as Thace scoffed.

"As if Zarkons lapdog could break me even when he himself couldn't," he smirked and Lance mentally recoiled.

"He better," Zarkon faced him again once more. "Consider this a warning," he grabbed a hold of his neck and pushed him against the wall. Lance began to breathe not unevenly as pressure was added. "Don't mess this up or you'll be next, understand?" Lance nodded so Zarkon let go of his neck. He didn't have much time to be thankful because he was almost immediately turned around and arms pinned to his back as his head was slammed against the wall. His vision got dizzy as his head began to throb at the hit.

"Yes sir I understand," Lance spoke to the wall. His teeth gritted and his free hand flatly pressed next to his neck.

He finally released him but Lance staid in place for a bit. Allowing his arms to fall back to his sides he pressed his head against the wall a bit harder. "Very well. I'll leave you to it." He walked away, passing Thace who had a small shocked expression on his face. He didn't watch him leave, however. Instead, he kept his eyes fixated on Blue who still hadn't moved.

A small click was heard from the door as it shut and as soon as Lance knew he was gone he fell to his knees. "You okay?" Lotor flouted next to him.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Lance looks off to his side. "There's no way I can do something like this,"

"Sure you can," Lotor rolled his eyes and hit his head to the side. "You just need to deal with the spy,"

Lance glanced over at him before quickly getting up and moving over to him. The spy was on his knees so once Lance got near him he bent down to stare at him. He seemed to flinch a bit at that. "So your name is Thace right?"

"Yes, that's correct," Lance looked down at his wrists still wrapped in bloody rope. He reached out causing the other to pull his hands back. Lance waited though. He waited and watched Thace's face for it to calm before reaching out again and began trying to untie it.

"So Thace," Lance smiled despite knowing that he couldn't tell. "I really don't know what he wanted me to get from you but I guess treating you better wouldn't hurt, would it?"

"I don't need manners from a murderer," he hissed out as he began to try and ease the pain from his wrist.

"Why?" He laughed with a roll of his eyes behind the mask. "If you can't accept my help sure but you look like the type who tried to do everything solo," he crossed his legs to sit in front of him and gripped his ankles.

"I'd prefer to let people stay out of the risk," He was glaring but Lance noted the hostility was slightly eased from his voice.

"A self-sacrificing type," Lance's smile was noticeable behind the thin cloth. "I respect that even though I disagree,"

"Who are you to disagree?" He scoffed. "Hiding behind a mask from all the wrongdoings that you've done. All the people you hurt,"

"Sinner has to play as a saint," Lance shrugged. "And weren't you the one pretending to be something you're not for however long you were here,"

"To help the right cause," he coughed in a way that would have worried Lance if it was a stranger. He wasn't though and Lance knew and accepted how this was gonna end. "I know you know the difference between good and bad--"

Lance knew where he was going with this. He was going to lecture him just like everyone does so instead he interrupted him. "Everybody does but some people just don't understand why one is preferred over the other,"

"And you're one of those people?" Thace crossed his arms. Lance followed his moves carefully making sure to not let him make any sharp moves.

"No, I know what is right and wrong," Lance sighed. "I just have no choice in the matter. I assume whatever organization you work for doesn't give you much choice either,"

"If this is a way to try and ease me into giving you answers I'm not going to," Lance said nothing, instead, just tilting his head a bit to the right. Thace sighed. "I would assume he treated you of all people like a colleague. Blue is just as notorious as Zarkon. One if not his most trusted right-hand,"

Lance snorted. "Who told you that?" He chuckled a bit. "Sure I'm one of his most powerful members but like Hell he trusts me,"

"The way he treated you when I first got here leaves much to interpretation. In the end, he is still in charge so what's to say that you didn't just say something?"

"You won't know unless you take my word for it," Lance liked talking to him. He did know why but he did. This room always made him feel uneasy but someone like this who was slightly in a worse position always helped him focus despite making him sad.

"Why would Zarkon take you in if he doesn't trust you?" Thace, unlike before when he simply sounded spiteful, began to sound genuinely curious and it made Lance relax a bit more.

"I just think he doesn't want to waste all the energy he spent getting me," Lance placed a hand on his chin. "He did put in a lot of work but maybe that's why he let me get high in status," he shrugged.

"'To get you,'? What exactly did he do?" Thace got a bit closer. Lance kept quiet. He simply stared at him as if trying to decide whether or not to tell him. "Are you one of the kids? The kids that got kidnapped back like ten years ago,"

Lance shook his head. Thace seemed to relax at that but Lance simply stared at the ceiling. "It happened seven years ago," he let himself fall back to lay on the floor. He didn't want to look at Thace and the pitiful expression he gave. He was going to die soon so he really didn't want to become attached to him.

"You?" The genuine surprise from Thace made Lance scoff at nothing. "Seven years ago? How old are you exactly?"

"Aren't I suppose to be the one interrogating you?" Lance swung himself back up. "Want to do an exchange of information? You don't really have any ghosts circling around you. Speaking of, Lotor can you leave?

"What? Why?" Lotor crossed his arms and got closer to his face. "I can help you get things out of him,"

"Lotor, just leave," Lance hissed out.

"Ghosts?" Thace questions just as Lotor stomped his foot on nothing and disappeared out the window.

Lance moved his attention back over to him. "Yeah, you know, the deceased," he stood up and moved over to the side of the bed. He hates this room and the questions were beginning to make him feel uneasy all over again. "Your relatives are either still alive or have been dead for quite some time,"

"Back to what you said before? An exchange of information, are we allowed to do that?" Thace got up as well.

"He told me to get information out of you," Lance crossed his arms. "Never said how. We can just trade answers,"

"And if we refuse to answer a question?" Thace cautioned as he got up and limped over towards him.

Lance placed his hands on his hips. "I won't but if you do then we're back to square one and I'll have everyone else torture you. I don't want that though cause you're actually really nice and I get that you're just doing this for something you believe in," his voice quieted down. "I don't know... you just seem like a nice guy,"

"But if we do this all the information I gathered would be for nothing considering I'm stuck here." Thace ran his fingers through his hair.

"You're just gonna have to be clever about it." He noticed the way Thace faltered at that. He obviously didn't want to do this, he seemed hesitant to do it in fact so Lance thought of a compromise. "Okay how about this, if you get nothing to your boss or whatever I won't tell anything to mine. Deal?"

He still seemed hesitant but he eyed Lance in a once more curious look. "If we do this can I have a request?"

Lance tilted his head. This could mean trouble but he might as well hear him out. "I can hear it and tell you if it's fine but I can't guarantee I'll do it,"

"Can you take off your mask?" Thace crossed his arms and slowly began to lower himself on the bed. He flinched a bit everytime he put pressure on something but once it was done he laid completely still in said bed. "I have no mask, they took it from me when they found out I was leaking information. It just seems more evenly matched to see each other's facial expressions,"

Lance stared at him with crinkled eyebrows. The request wasn't really something he expected but he didn't really see anything wrong with it. He too would be curious about someone else's face if it was always hidden. "Are you sure you want that?" He had to be positive he knew what would come from it. "Only a couple people have actually seen my face and only those who are close to Zarkon are the ones that stay alive. If you see my face it'll just seal your fate,"

"My fate was sealed when I got caught with a flash drive full of inside information." He had a strained voice and the way he looked at Lance made him smile at the determination of it seemed to harbor.

"If you're sure," Lance nodded. He placed his hands behind his head and felt the knot of the string holding his mask in place. He hesitated for a long while, hovering his hands over it to give Thace a chance to change his mind. When he didn't Lance let out a sigh while pulling at the string letting the mask fall to the ground. Piercing brown eyes met his dark blue ones and for a moment they just stared at each other. Neither of them moving and both in complete silence. Finally, Thace looked down at his mouth that was still covered and Lance pulled it down as well so that it was now hanging around his neck. Thace eyes widened as he stared at him. He hates being stared at so he turned around and sat on the floor right beside the bed. He pulled his legs in and he was once more hiding his face with them.

The silence was awkward, especially in this room, but Lance didn't lift his head. He waited until Thace finally seemed to be over his shock and cleared his throat. "You're very young," he said causing Lance to scoff. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen," He answered immediately. "I'm almost eighteen though,"

"Seventeen..." He pondered on that age. Thace was sitting up now staring at the ceiling. "You said you were taken seven years ago..."

"Yup," he popped the P carelessly and finally lifted his head. He still refused to look up instead just staring straight at the wall. Lance finally glanced up at him when he didn't say anything more. A frown was present and his eyebrows crinkled together giving the ceiling a pitiful look.

"I'm sorry," he said at no one. His voice quivered softly causing Lance to look back forward. Thace knew he was no longer staring at him so he looked down at him this time. "Sorry we couldn't help you," Lance shrugged knowing he was being watched. "But we are helping people. Please if you let me go you can come with me. The blade will help you. You can come back and we'll help you find your family!"

"Help me? That's what you're going to do?" Lance stretched his left leg flatly on the ground but held onto his right knee. He leaned against the mattress of the bed and stared up at him. "You're not the first doe-eyed, soft-voiced, liar who said they would help me if I helped them. You want information... that's all any of you want," he slammed both of his hands against the side of his head. Not anything relating to this conversation though. It was just because the ghosts were screaming relatively loudly right now, most likely because of Lotor.

Thace, however, must have thought differently because he was quick to his side grabbing onto his wrists. "Hey, it's okay. I don't want your information, heck you can tell us literally nothing but I still want to get you out of here,"

"If I get out of this do you know what'll happen?" Lance smiled at him, slowly dropping his hands. "When I first talked to you, you called me a murderer. How do you think everyone else sees me? I'll get the death penalty. Or best case scenario I'm sent to a mental institution for the rest of my life," his smile turned crude and he began shaking his head. "You don't know this but I don't exactly see things normally. They'll do something and I'll just end up back on constant drugs. I would lose my friends and the small stability in my life,"

"No, hey, it's okay. We can contact your family and pull a few strings to keep you with them," Thace had his hands on Lance's shoulders trying to calm him.

"My family hates me! Don't you get it!?" Lance's eyes watered but he was quick to wipe them off before they fell. "Like I said before you're not the first person who has tried to get me out of this. A few of them were successful and yet here I am. So stop trying to meddle in my life and let's just exchange answers,"

Thace dropped his hands back by his side. "Then I shall ask the first question," he thought for a bit. "Which mental disorder do you have?"

Lance looked back at him a bit surprised that that was the question he asked. He was smart enough to figure out Lance wasn't completely there, especially since he had mentioned the mental institute earlier. Lance simply shrugged. "I've never gotten to an actual doctor to have it tested. I've only been able to get information about the probable thing I might have... so something like psychosis or schizophrenia," he knew what it was. He just saw ghosts. Nothing more but he never lied and he really didn't want to tell someone his powers. "My turn, may I have the full name of the organization you work for?"

He seemed hesitant as well. "The Blade of Marmora,"

Lance giggled a bit under his breath. "That sounds like a cheesy video game organization," he looked at him to see if he was lying but, honestly? He couldn't tell the difference. He seemed like a good man though so Lance believed he couldn't lie like this.

"Alright, my question, what are Zarkons plans for this city?"

"How should I know?" Lance scoffed but looked up at the ceiling. "He's told me that this place has an incredible supply of quintessence and that it's easier to extract from this medicine. He has this superiority complex. He wants to be like an emperor or king or something. He see's into the future..." Lance shivered

Thace didn't look like he believed the second part. "A God complex? Not very surprising to consider. I highly doubt he sees the future though," he smiled at him. The audacity! Treating him like a crazy kid. He knew Zarkon and he could definitely see the future.

"No, he can!" That came out more desperate then he intended and only made him look more like a pouting kid.

"Perhaps he uses that to keep you here. The fear of him seeing your moves," Thace shrugged at began to think of a new question. "Are there any other kids stuck here?"

"He's stopped taking young kids. Teens and grown-ups come and go but they usually don't stay long. Right now, as far as I know, there's no one who's come here against their will," the last time it had happened was almost four years ago. Zarkon simply got bored of it and never bothered to take any other people. Thace seemed relieved to hear that. "Alright, my question: how many people are in your organization?"

"I honestly don't know," he shook his head. "Over a hundred. All members are either hiding from the Galra, were addicts because of their supplies, or were once one of them,"

"So they're just Galra," Lance crinkled his eyebrows. "How many more spies are here?" He said more forcibly then he meant to.

"It's my turn to ask a question," he reminded matching his forcefulness.

"This isn't a negotiation," Lance warned and grabbed his mask that was still on the floor. "Tell me now before Zarkon comes,"

Thace was shocked at the sudden change of attitude. He watched him as he began to tie his mask on again and when the child's face was gone he glared at him. "I really wish I could have helped you. A child doesn't deserve that. You didn't deserve that but I've realized it now," Thace sat up straight. "You're too far gone,"

Lance recoiled. "You gave up on me,"

"There is nothing to give up on. You're already gone," Lance didn't have a chance to react because Thace was quick to land a hard punch on his cheek sending his body to the ground. His vision dizzy and unfocused as he sat there with his palms on the floor. He looked up just in time to see Thace run out the door.

He honestly couldn't believe it. He shook his head to try and get rid of all thoughts as he dragged himself up. He wondered for only a split second if Zarkon was here. Grabbing a gun from the many places around the house, this time it was hidden under the pillow. He ran out after him. He looked around for a trail in this huge house. Thace was still hurt but most of his blood was dried, despite that he managed to find small drops of blood on the floor. He followed after him to see Thace standing over something.

"No! It's too late to help me!" Lance snuck behind him and saw what he was doing. He was talking to someone on the phone. "Enough, I can't gather anymore. Blue he's one of them!" Lance got closer quickly at the mention of himself. "He needs help! Don't fire. He's like one of--" Lance hit him on the back of the head with the butt of the gun.

He fell to the ground catching himself on all fours. The phone fell and he reached to grab it only for Lance to kick him roughly on the stomach making him curl in on himself. He hates this. Lance had genuinely liked this man, he didn't want to hurt him anymore. He had to knock him out though so he hit him once more in the back of the head. He finally fell and Lance stood over him with heavy breath.

He spotted the phone in the call. The speaker was calling out Thace's name. Lance picked up the phone and pulled it next to his ear. "Thace, are you alright?! Answer!"

"What's your name?" Lance asked and heard how the other person on the line fell silent.

"Who are you?" He hissed out. Lance stayed silent. "What did you do to Thace?!"

"I'm Blue," he answered simply. "And I only knocked him out. He'll be dead soon though,"

"What?" This person seemed angrier then sad. Lance didn't know how to feel about that.

"He's going to be killed. He barely gave us any information. Be glad you trained them this well. Even though the beating, he's held on," he didn't know why he was praising him but he was glad he was doing it. "I'm sorry," and with that, he hung up. He stared at the phone for a bit. It was just like any other phone but how had he gotten it? It was a small phone, no way anyone would have let him keep unless...

"Good job," he turned around quickly and saw Zarkon standing over him pulling him out of his thoughts. "What exactly happened?"

"He wasn't trying to escape, simply to call someone," he tossed the phone over to him. He carelessly caught it. "There's no way he could have gotten that phone here. We have another traitor here,"

"And what did you attain?" Lance thought about the things he asked. Then about the promise he made to Thace. As far as he knew Thace only got one message through to his superior so he did the same.

"I only got the organization he was a part of. The Blade of Marmora," Zarkon nodded.

"I'll take care of the rest," he nodded while he began to tap away at the screen. "Go to your house and I'll have him secured,"

Lance bowed. "Of course. I'll be heading out then," he turned quickly to leave, pulling off his mask in the process. He made it to the door that would lead him to the living room as Zarkon called his name again.

"Round up your little recruits and send me your location later tonight, understood?"

"Yes," Lance found himself slightly jogging out and as soon as he made it to the front door he ran through it. Lotor was waiting there and quickly stood up and followed after Lance when he noticed him.

"Hey, Lance what happened?" He asked flying after him.

"Nothing," he said through gritted teeth.

"What do you mean nothing?" Lotor rolled his eyes. "You're crying,"

Lance stopped on the side of the road. He lifted his hand to his cheek to find that, yes, he was crying. He wiped it away without explanation to Lotor. He seemed concerned but Lance didn't have time for that. The more desperate he wanted to rub his eyes dry the more desperately he began to cry until his vision was once more a mess.

He ran home when nothing cleared up. He slammed the door harder then he wanted to barely able to catch his breath. it wasn't long before he heard some shuffling.

"Lance?" It was Keith. He had forgotten that he let him sleep over. Lance spun around to face the door and not be seen. "Lance! Oh my God, I thought I lost you again and I was not going to call Pidge to tell her... what are you doing?"

"Nothing," he smiled despite knowing Keith couldn't see him. He pulled up his hoodie and turned around making it harder for Keith to see him. "I just wanted to go to the back and smoke or something," he took a step to leave only for Keith to block his way.

"Smoke? Yeah, Pidge'll have my head if I let you do that," Keith tried to look at Lance but he only turned his head whenever he was close.

"Fine I won't smoke," he made another move and Keith stepped in front of him again. "I just want to go to the back,"

"Take off your hoodie." he crossed his arms. "Lance take it off." Lance didn't say anything instead just reached over his head and put a hand on the hoodie. He considered just not doing it, it wasn't like Keith was forcing him to, but he knew Keith only meant well and he didn't want to seem rude so he slid it off. "Wow... Lance, what happened to your face?" He said noticing the bruises that were beginning to form.

"I got into a fight," he lied and made a move to leave.

"A fight?" Keith didn't sound convinced as he moved to block his way. "Lance I'm not one to judge, being the one who's usually in fights, but I highly doubt this was a fight,"

"How would you know?" he sounded angrier then he felt. He was glad Keith was worried about him but he really was just as irritated.

Keith cocked an eyebrow with an unimpressed expression. He rolled his eyes and grabbed his hands, both at the same time. He pressed down on them hard. It didn't hurt but he could feel the way his fingers squeezed together and stared at Keith in confusion.

"Well you didn't flinch," Keith smirked as he let go of his hands. He shrugged. "So your knuckles are fine. Either you have really weak punches or you lied to me,"

Lance stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It doesn't matter," Lance grumbled. He moved forward again. This time Keith did let him go but he followed after him.

"Then why'd you lie about it?" Lance stopped right in front of the door to his backyard.

"Look I get it, okay? You're worried but I really don't want to talk about it especially to a guy I barely just met a few days ago," he rushed out harshly as he opened the door roughly.

Keith watched his eyes water a bit at that and he didn't understand a need for him to pry. "Can I at least ask Hunk and Pidge to come over because something's wrong. If you don't want to tell me that fine." he was frustrated, Lance could tell. He felt bad for talking to Keith that way.

Lance shrugged in response to the question as he sat down in the hammock. Keith rolled his eyes and stepped a bit away as he began calling someone. Lance didn't pay attention to the words he was saying. He instead looked up at the sky and the leg that he was hanging off the side was pushing himself. He began to wonder about Thace. What would happen to him? He didn't want him to be hurt anymore but he also didn't want him to die. Both were inevitable. He bit his bottom lip just as it began to quiver and watched the leaves over him dance in the wind until he felt water on the sides of his face. He pulled up his hoodie again and listened to the soft conversion Keith was having. His voice was actually soothing to him. He was glad he wasn't alone or maybe he would think more deeply into it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayee season six came out and i honestly didn't like it that much. Like it wasn't the worst season but it wasn't the best. It was just kinda there to confirm shit and booii if lance starts dating allura just because she got her heart broke Imma go off. Like i don't care who he ends up with but if he gets with them soley as a second best option then fuck that! And how tf they gonna skip over 2 YEARS worth of time between krolia and Keith like I wanted to fucking know how he dealt with that shit and finding his mom but nawww they just skipped over it. Lotor betrayed them and shit... disappointed but not surprised... over all I give it a 5/10. Three points off because my Lord and savior matt Holt wasn't even mentioned.


	13. This Is Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: This is home by Cavetown. 
> 
> Damn this is the longest chapter yet! Almost 9 thousand words! Sorry it took so long but guess who's birthday was yesterday! I meant to post it then but I kinda got distracted and forgot plus I didn't really like the ending. This whole chapter is in Keith POV so sorry about that. Hope you like it!

"He's been like that since he's gotten back," Keith explained from the back door. Pidge and Hunk were next to him staring at Lance in concern and glancing over at Keith for an explanation. He was watching as Lance pushed himself on the hammock with one leg and simply stared up at the sky. One hand was lazily resting on his stomach while the other was outstretched by his side. If they got closer they could hear him whispering and humming along to a song they couldn't understand.

"He seems sad," Hunk noted running his hands together. "You said he was hurt?"

"He had bruises on his face," Keith explained. "I don't know. He was really irritable when he came back,"

"I would get mad at you for not watching him but he did leave really early in the morning so I can't blame you for sleeping," Pidge crossed her arms and stared up at Hunk. "Should we call Coran? He's better at dealing with Lance when he's like this. I don't want to say the wrong thing,"

"Honestly I feel like we should just try and talk to him," Hunk answered back. "I don't want him to feel like we're ignoring him,"

"I feel like you couldn't ever hurt him," Keith said. His eyes wandered around the backyard not sure of themselves. He was honestly jealous of how close the three seemed. Why Lance would ever doubt their friendship was beyond him. Lance never did seem to waver though and Keith wasn't sure how he should feel about that. "I don't think he's really expecting you to say anything. Just be there,"

"Thanks for that advice, Dr. Phil." Pidge rolled her eyes.

"Doesn't make me any less nervous about saying the wrong thing," Hunk admitted.

"There is no right or wrong thing. Just say something," Keith placed one hand on both of their backs and began pushing them outside to the direction of the distracted Lance.

"Hey Lance," Pidge started off to get his attention. "So how's the weather?"

Lance cocked an eyebrow and chuckled as he turned to look at Pidge. Hunk sighed out a laugh just as Keith groaned a bit. "Nevermind, you just said the wrong thing,"

"What did I say?!" Pidge groaned.

"Have I ever told you how awkward you are?" Lance chuckled at her. She pouted with a cross of her arms which caused Lance to reach over and ruffle her hair. "Awe my poor little Pidgey." She slapped his hand away.

"So are you really okay?" Hunk looked over at the two with a smile but settled on looking at Lance with concern.

Lance didn't mean to make them worry. He knew Keith was worried but he hadn't assumed he would tell Pidge and Hunk about it. He didn't want to make them worry but he didn't want to lie to them. Which one was more important to him? Of course, he couldn't tell them the full truth but he could easily try to communicate his problems.

"I can't say that I am, buddy," he sunk back into the hammock and stared back up at the leaves. This time, however, he scooted over as an invitation for them to come sit by him. Pidge immediately jumped in beside him. She laid her head on his stomach and dangled her feet off the net-like material. Hunk sat down on the corner where Lance's outstretched leg was currently rested. Keith didn't take the invitation, mostly because he just continued to watch how the three spoke to each other.

"And why don't you feel okay, exactly?" Keith offered so they could keep up their conversation. Lance seemed to grow a bit irritated at the question but Pidge and Hunk stared back at Lance expectantly.

"I might have gotten someone into trouble," he mumbled out after a moment.

"That's it?" Pidge scoffed.

"That's not too bad just go back and apologize," Hunk tried to be reasonable.

"Or talk to whoever you got them in trouble with," Pidge went on. "I'm sure if you explain it they'll understand what happened and we can take care of--"

"I can't just do that!" Lance yelled. Seeing the shocked expressions from his outburst caused him immediately to regret yelling at them. He covered his eyes with his hands to hide them away and sighed out a shaky breath. "It's more complicated than that. I just don't want to explain it,"

"But then how else are we supposed to help you?" Keith, who was currently leaning against the tree the hammock was tied to, pushed himself off with his shoulders and took a step closer to Lance.

"I never asked you to help me." Lance crossed his arms and glared at Keith. "Matter of fact, I wanted you to leave me alone but here you are."

Keith clutched his fists a bit harder and turned his head. "Hey, you can't just say things like,"

"What?" Lance looked over to see Shiro standing firmly between the two. Pidge and Hunk watched as he flickered his sight to an open space in the yard.

"I didn't say anything," Keith grumbled. He wasn't watching Lance anymore so it wasn't surprising that he didn't realize he was talking to him, nonetheless, Lance rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't talking to you," Lance returned the hostility.

Shiro sighed. Lance didn't understand why it made him feel bad. "You can't act like this when someone is trying to understand you." Lance opened his mouth to defend himself but Shiro held out his hand to make him stop. "He's only trying to help. I've told you before but he really isn't the type to try and help. You're just gonna make him trust you less,"

"So?" He noticed the way Keith seemed to soften once he began to realize what was happening. "Are you gonna try to get into the inner works of my head too?"

"Only if you want to talk to me about it, after all, I can't tell anyone." Shiro shrugged. "Of course, that's not for me to decide. Just talk to them if you truly want to just stop being mean,"

"It's not like it's not for good reason," Lance moved his head from his left to look at his right where Lotor stood crossing his arms. "He can't hear me right now but Lance you can't just simply allow him to be seated by his words can you? Don't get these people involved,"

Lance once more placed his hands over his face. "What's wrong," Hunk strained.

"The angel and devil on my shoulder aren't playing nice," Lance sunk into himself.

"Apologize," Shiro spoke again. Lotor rolled his eyes and shook his head. He understood his thoughts on being mean to Keith but he also got why Shiro was getting defensive.

Finally, Lance just gave a loud sigh. One that sounded exhausted more then it did irritated. "Keith," he finally looked over at him. His arms were still crossed and he looked angry which caused Lance to look back up at the tree. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I just-- I've been put in this situation that I don't know what to do and I really don't want to get you guys involved,"

"Of course," Lotor grumbled, disappearing from his side.

Keith looked genuinely surprised at that. He gave a small huff of air before letting himself drop to the ground. He crossed his legs and leaned his head on his hand that was pressed against his knee. "It's fine." He answered while twirling a blade of grass between his finger then yanking it out of the ground. "I get that you were upset,"

"Well it is your business," Pidge broke in. "I feel like you need to talk to us about it though. With all the things you see and believe, you might be blowing this out of proportion," she gently bumped her knuckles against Lance's forehead which caused him to laugh as he pushed her away gently too.

"Or you know," Hunk added in, poking his two index fingers together. "Talk to someone else about it if you feel we'll be too biased,"

"I doubt you'll be biased," Lance sighed. "I was the one who messed up,"

"According to you anyway," Keith smirked up at him. He tapped his fingers against his head. "And we all know how much you think,"

"Shut up," Lance playfully argued. "And to think he made me apologize,"

"He?" Pidge questioned.

"Is it the one you always see?" Hunk asked.

"No, not exactly." Lance rubbed the back of his neck in thought. Pidge snapped her fingers which caught their attention.

"Is it the nameless one you told us about," she asked. "Can you tell us who he is now?"

Lance shook his head. "Nope. Sorry. He seems dead set on not letting you guys know." Lance wanted to add that he wasn't exactly dead but he knew that they would immediately guess that if he did.

"Mystery guy." Keith mockingly shivered. "Ghost friend is truly terrifying,"

"Shut up loser." Lance stuck out his tongue. The smile that appeared on him had faltered a bit. He sat p slowly, giving Pidge enough time and warning for her to do up from his stomach. "While I'm able to actually form a coherent thought can we go inside and watch a movie or something?"

"It is kind of cold," Hunk said. He looked at Lance with crinkled eyebrows. "Are you sure you're all right not to talk?"

"Trust me, big guy," Lance swung his legs onto the ground. He stretched as if he had been there to ling and me himself stand up straight once he was done. "I just want to watch a movie and distract myself from everything," Keith looked like he wanted to open his mouth to protest but Pidge was already glaring at him.

"That's a good place to start," She smiled. "Come on let's go and we can pick a movie,"

Lance smiled back at her and gave a small nod. He began moving rather quickly back inside. The others followed close behind him. "Are you sure he's okay?" Keith stared up at Hunk.

He gave a sigh in return and wrapped a hand around his shoulder. Keith stiffened as he was pulled in close to Hunk. "One thing you'll learn about Lance is, he's stubborn," Hunk almost seemed dejected at that, in a way that made Keith feel a bit sympathetic. Maybe he would feel a bit more in the empathetic mood if he wasn't being crushed by someone but he didn't pull away. He learned not to hurt someone's feeling by doing that. Besides, Hunk was warm. "But he is an open book. He'll come around and tell us when he's comfortable enough but right now let's just let him relax."

Keith nodded, unsure of how to respond. Hunk smiled while he let go and Keith made sure to pull away with slowness. He understood not wanting to tell someone something but something was seriously wrong. Was he getting hit? Was somebody trying to mug him? Keith didn't want that to happen... but the way he phrased that he got someone in trouble; had that person possibly hurt him?

Keith ignored his feelings in order to focus on Lance and Pidge who were crouched down and pushing aside movie cases that were seemingly uninteresting to them. Pidge would hold one up and Lance would shake his head in disapproval at the choice she had made. A silent exchange that Keith found rather entertaining. Hunk reached over and picked one up quickly.

"Let's watch this one!" The two looked up. Pidge immediately rolled her eyes but Lance's eyes sparkled at the movie Keith couldn't see.

"Dude, we've seen that movie like a hundred times," Pidge argued. Keith made his way around them to see which movie Lance seemed to light up at.

"Come on, its a classic!" Lance grabbed the box which interrupted Keith's view but he was quick to make it up as he pushed the case close to his face. "Keith, be the tie breaker!" Hunk laughed seeing how seemingly confused Keith was.

Keith waited for his eyes to focus before finally looking at the box and reading the title out loud. "Spirited away?"

"Yeah, isn't it amazing?!" Lance gave him a contagious smile.

"Isn't it over-played?" Pidge remarked from the floor.

"I wouldn't think so," Keith said carefully holding the box. "I've never seen it," Lance let out a quick and sharp gasp and looked over at Hunk like he had just been slapped.

"Did you just hear that? Disrespected in my own house!" Lance snatched the box back. "How dare you!"

"Oh god," Hunk snickered into his hand.

"Great, now we have to watch it," Pidge rolled her eyes but despite that, she was smiling.

"You're damn right we do!" Lance jumped onto the couch and handed the box back to Pidge. "Play it, my dear henchmen!"

"Please, if anything I'm the one in charge." Despite her comment, she was beginning to set up the movie.

"Hunk--" Before Lance could even finish Hunk interrupted.

"You want snacks, don't you?" Lance puckered out his bottom lip and made soft whimpering sounds. "Oh put your puppy dog eyes away I'll get them,"

"Yes! Thanks, buddy!" Lance yelled victoriously with a smile. Pidge was now done setting up the movie and it began with a blue screen before small trailers to other movies began to play. "Thank you Pidge. Now would you be a doll and go get us some pillows and blankets?"

"Ugh why can't you get them?" she groaned as she stood up from the ground.

"I'm so comfortable," to prove his point Lance began to sink more deeply into the couch. "I would ask Keith but the first day we met he was already digging through my stuff,"

"Hey I was just trying to--"Keith's defense towards himself was interrupted by Pidge.

Crossing her arms she turned around and began to walk towards the stairs. "Fine! I guess I'll be the good friend."

"The goodest!"

"That's not a word!" She teased making her way upstairs.

Keith watched her disappear from view and looked back at Lance. Even at the trailers that were playing he seemed memorized by the screen. The silence was awkward but Keith was quick to cover it up. "So is this like your favorite movie?"

"I honestly don't know," Lance shrugged looking over at him as he made his way to the couch as well. "I like a lot of movies as much as I like this one but it's up there. I used to watch this movie when I was little all the time,"

Keith wasn't sure how close he should actually get. On one hand, there were four of them but on the other, Lance was smack in the middle and he didn't want to seem rude by being too far. He opted to simply sit to his left. Unsure of how to respond to his previous statement he decided to change the subject.

"I never got to thank you properly for actually getting me into the club last night so thanks. You really saved me," he noticed the way Lance visibly straightened at the mention of that.

"Oh yeah, no problem." His eyes flickered back to the screen. "I can't do it again though. I got in trouble."

That last sentence was mumbled so low it was obvious he didn't mean for Keith to hear him but he did and that raised more questions. Everyone seemed scared of him or his authority, either way, there was no way he would get in trouble by anyone there. He got in trouble by someone else more superior than him. Plus in a time where be would actually make sense of what was being said to him. Is that where he was this morning? These thoughts began to roll around back to what Kolivan had said. To be careful with anyone here who had power over others. There was also so many other things he wanted to tell him.

 

"I saw the scar on your back," he decided to say. Lance seemed taken aback by that statement-making Keith unsure on how to explain to him. "You just got hurt and Hunk had to lift your shirt and I saw your back all scratched up. I just thought you should know that I saw it,"

Lance seemed genuinely embarrassed by it which made Keith regret bringing it up. "Thanks for telling me," he said leaning more deeply into the couch.

"How did you get it?" Keith regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. He didn't mean to sound insensitive but he was just genuinely curious. Lance caught his eyes. Eyebrows crinkled up in disbelief.

"It was an accident," Lance whispered. "Coran was about to get hurt so I jumped in front of him and I got hurt instead,"

'What exactly would cause such a scar?' It was on the tip of his tongue but Keith stopped himself. It was so obviously a burn mark. Keith could imagine that without making Lance anymore uncomfortable. In a desperate act of trying to avoid the topic as quickly as possible, he spat out the first question he thought off. "So who'd you get in trouble with?"

Lance seemed much paler then just a few minutes ago. Although it may have seemed out of nowhere Keith didn't mind that he had simply spat out that question. He was planning on asking him anyway. "No one important,"

"Seemed important enough to the point you would lie," Keith was no longer looking at him. He saw the small flicker of annoyance, however.

"I didn't lie to anyone," Lance defended himself.

"Sure," Keith leaned his head on his hand that was resting on his leg. He didn't want to start an argument. He tried to drop it but the small sarcasm made its way into his words and Lance caught onto that.

"Are you trying to say I lied?" Lance seemed to be growing angry. Keith as well just because he didn't want to deal with this.

His eyebrows crinkled together on his face that was still facing the T.V. but his eyes looking over at Lance who was completely turned to him. "I'm not trying to say anything except that you didn't tell us anything,"

"'Us'?" Lance scoffed. "Who is 'us'? You're the one who just showed up with Pidge and implanted themselves,"

Keith took no offense from those words or even if he did he didn't let it show. He completely turned himself to face him. "Weak insults aren't going to deter me from trying to figure out what's wrong,"

"I'm not some lab rat, Keith." He crossed his arms spitting out his name. "I just don't want to talk about it,"

"The most talkative person I've ever met not wanting to talk about something? Forgive me if it sounds a bit suspicious." At this point, Keith had no idea what he wanted Lance to admit to. That he was using again? That he was supplying for the Galra? Or maybe just that he was doing something wrong by not telling them but Keith knew he wasn't. He was letting his curiosity get ahead of himself but before he could muster up an apology Lance broke in.

"You really think it's that easy to talk about crap?" He spat. "I like talking about the things that distract me from all the shitty thing going on in my life right now. Do you really think I want to talk about something so shitty to three of the few people that actually make me happy?" He was jabbing his finger into Keith's chest making him feel more regretful then he already was.

"Lance..." Keith wanted to break it up before it got even worse but Lance wasn't letting it go. Keith didn't blame him.

"How about you go and talk about your mom?" Lance knew it was a low blow but the way Keith's eyes rounded made him feel a tad bit better. "Why aren't you talking about that? It's pretty suspicious to me that someone who claims to want to speak to other people not want to talk about the one thing that gets under their skin,"

Keith curled and uncurled his fists. "Okay, okay! Break it up!" Lances eyes snapped to the side of the T.V. where he saw Shiro standing there angrily and Lotor with his legs pulled into his chest looking rather amused. Shiro spoke again. "You need to apologize,"

"What? He started it!" Lance argued at something Keith couldn't see.

"I could care less who started it or who ends it. I just need it to stop," Shiro stepped forward. "Keith had no right to say those things to you. His curiosity got the best of him but you know what happened with Krolia. I didn't tell you those things so you could use it against him," Lance flickered his sight back to Keith who was averting his eyes from him. "Apologize."

Lance was just now beginning to realize how much it must have hurt Keith. He really didn't want to be like that to him. He sighed and looked at the floor. He opened his mouth ready to apologize only for Keith to mumble something under his breath and catch his attention again. "What?"

Keith let out a deep sigh finally deciding to look over at him. "Sorry," he repeated. "I got ahead of myself,"

Lance almost wanted to respond in a witty way that would cause them both to laugh and let it go but he knew Keith wouldn't find it very funny right now. "I'm sorry too. It was a low blow bringing her up knowing that you had a tough relationship," Keith gave nothing more than a nod in understanding. Lance was suddenly worried that Keith was still angry with him until Shiro just sighed.

"That's his way of saying it okay," Lance relaxed a bit but Keith began wondering what he was hearing. "By the way, your other two friends had been listening in on you two for a while,"

Lance was quick to whip around to see Hunk awkwardly standing there and Pidge at the bottom of the stairs still holding onto the pillows and blankets she decided to bring down. "What the hell guys," At that, Keith turned around to see them too. He was partly annoyed and partly amused. "Were you listening to this entire conversation?!"

"No!" Hunk argued stepping a bit forwards.

"Just about half," Pidge elaborated. She gave them a sheepish smile.

"I didn't want to interrupt but then you guys started arguing and I didn't know what to do," Hunk took another step closer.

"Yeah and the movie started," Pidge spoke pointing towards the screen. Lance quickly got up only to stumble back into the couch when a pillow was tossed directly into his head. "Sit down, I'll rewind it," she dropped everything she had gathered directly in front of the couch and simply clicked a button to rewind it.

"Ugh Keith could you help me," Hunk smiled at him. Lance seemed to get a little jealous when Hunk asked Keith instead but he was paid no mind.

"Yeah sure," he said getting up and making his way towards the kitchen where Hunk was standing close by.

As soon as he got into the kitchen Keith felt the need to apologize. "I told you to let it go," Hunk sighed in disappointment which made Keith feel even worse then if he was simply angry.

"I know but I kinda just let my mouth do whatever before my brain could process what it was saying," Keith let out quickly. "I'm genuinely sorry," Keith bowed a bit only for Hunk to roll his eyes playfully.

"Dude it's fine, I get that you're curious just be more careful with what you say next time," Hunk scolded. "Nowhere grab these," he handed Keith a few bags of chips and a small jar of what he assumed were cookies. "Take those back and I'll take these," Hunk was grabbing even more snacks then Keith was. They were in plates, however, making them slightly harder to hold.

They were quick to be out of the door and back into the living room. The movie was paused, presumably waiting for them. They both dropped the snacks carefully, and uncarefully in Keith's case, on the floor. Keith and Lance stared at each other awkwardly but Keith sent him an apologetic smile hoping he could get the message that he was truly sorry. Lance seemed to take the hint as he gave a returned small smile as well. He scooted over a bit as an invitation towards Keith who gladly took the seat next to him.

"Can we finally start the movie?" Pidge complained as she took a whole bag of chips into her lap.

Lance was quick to grab a couple of snacks and balance them on a pillow before wrapping himself into a blanket. "Okay ready!" He looked over at Keith right before Pidge pressed play and whispered: "You're gonna love this movie!" Keith returned with a genuinely happy smile.

He focused on the screen. Not wanting to reach for any of the snacks on the floor he simply stealing and snatching away the food Lance had gotten just moments ago. Only a few minutes passed until Lance gave up on trying to defend his food and placed everything close to his right side where Keith was sitting. Hunk was on Lance's other side which allowed Lance to lean against him in comfort. Pidge had decided to stay on the floor and simply reach over to the snacks she wanted. She sat on a pillow under her so it could be much more comfortable.

They just stayed like that the whole two hours that the movie lasted. A couple times one of the three who had already seen this movie would pitch in a comment or ideas or sometimes just speaking to the screen. It made Keith laugh how enticed they seemed to be. Through their constant comments, he learned their favorite character. Pidge seemed to throw more comments and praises around when Len was on the screen but when Keith asked she seemed conflicted saying both Len and No Face.

"He's creepy in the beginning," Lance commented as Keith focused on the characters currently riding a train. "He's so sweet though. I really like Haku too though," he pouted. "It's one of those two,"

"Well I like Kamaji," Hunk smiled proudly. "He reminds me of my grandad," Keith smiled. He wondered if his grandad was like that.

"What about you?" Pidge shot Keith a smirk. "Emo boy watching Spirited Away for the first time, I would love to see your impression of the characters," Lance and Hunk both turned towards him as well.

Keith pulled his knees close to his chest and placed his chin directly on top of them. "I like the soot," he said without a moments thought.

"The soot?" Pidge laughed in disbelief.

"You know, the little black Sootballs," Keith smiled. "They're so cute and innocent and all they're doing is dragging coal from one side of the room to the other yet they seem so content and happy with their lives," Keith let out another small laugh under his breath. "It's really endearing,"

"Never in a million years would I have ever imagined Keith fucking Kogane call something both cute and endearing at the same time," Pidge began laughing. Lance and Hunk both chuckled as well but focused their attention back on the T.V.

Keith didn't understand what was so shocking about liking the Sootballs. They weren't a really major part of the movie, that's why Keith liked them so much. Just like Lance had predicted, Keith was falling in love. He was usually not really still enough to simply enjoy a movie but this one almost forced him to pay attention. It made him mesmerized at the story yet still wanting to continue watching for the unanswered questions. Keith was distracted at the screen that he didn't notice as everyone began to stretch and move around. Lance reach ice the table for the remote. This time Keith noticed but he paid no mind to it. He just watched as the two main characters were falling in the sky with their foreheads touching.

"Alright I'm going to sleep," Lance announced as he paused the movie. Keith turned to face him still trying to figure out why he had paused it.

"What but it's almost over," he complained. "We're about to figure out what's gonna happen!"

"Sorry, Keith we should have warned you that he always pauses it there," Hunk smiled. "You can borrow the CD if you want to watch the rest that badly. There are only a couple minutes left anyways,"

"But why'd you turn it off, to begin with?" Keith huffed.

Lance gave him an apologetic smile. "Bad memories. If I finish it I'll just feel bad...I don't like finishing movies," His tone gave Keith the impression that he didn't finish it for different reasons but he learned not to pry.

"What a bust," Keith sulked into the couch. "Unfair, you can't just get me invested in a movie just to not finish it,"

"And here I thought he would actually play through the entire movie this time," Pidge responded. "I should probably head home anyways. I have so much stuff to do," she got up from her spot on the floor and gave a large stretch.

Hunk moved beside her. "Same here. School has not been pretty,"

Keith looked down at his phone that had been put on silent to see a missed call. One from Kolivan. He hissed in fake pain. "Hold on, I really need to call this person back," he held up his finger and began moving closer to the door, sliding out, and shutting the door behind him. He was quick to redial.

"Keith," the voice was stern, making him flinch.

"Kolivan, I'm sorry I didn't answer you and waited kinda long to call you back. I was distracted and my phone was on silent and... I'm sorry," he tried to explain himself.

"That is unimportant now," he seemed reluctant. "We got a message from Thace,"

"Thace? Is he alright? Did he escape!?"

"The last communication came from what we assumed to be one of the Galra headquarters. The call wasn't long enough to trace it back. Thace was quick with his message until Blue interrupted,"

"Blue? He talked to you?"

"Yes, what do you know of him?"

"I know he's a complete asshole," Keith let out a huff of frustration. "He's always talking and bragging. I don't know, he doesn't really confide in us,"

"I recall that you have only been on one mission with him but has he showed any empathetic characteristics towards his supposed assignments?" Kolivan asked. Keith crinkled his eyebrows together.

"Well, yes, I suppose he has. He even made them their own supposed cemetery," Keith shrugged from his side of the conversation. "He seems to have a deep respect for the dead and almost dead but with us and with the other Galra he is very hostile and seems almost annoyed,"

"Interesting," Kolivan pondered on the information for a while. "Thace seemed to believe that he was 'one of them,'"

"One of them?"

"One of the children I told you of," he said. "All he spoke about was him needing help. Even as I was speaking with Blue he seemed conflicted. He even said sorry at the end of it. What do you make of it?"

"I can't make anything out of it," Keith answered. "If he was truly caught then I assume Zarkon would have taken care of it. I'll carefully gather more information and see if he truly can not leave and needs our help,"

"Very well. Keith be careful," Keith didn't answer and Kolivan didn't think too much into it. Instead, he hung up.

Keith gave a horrible sigh and hit the back of his head against the wall trying to figure out what was going on. He looked down at his phone once more than at the pager he barely paid any mind to. He let out a horrible groan. It was Blue. He needed to meet him again. He was happy that he didn't have to wait so long but also annoyed that he really had no choice.

He headed back inside to make up an excuse only for Pidge to say one almost immediately. "School has been hell all week," she sunk her he's down. "Hunk and I have been up to our chins in chaos,"

"Oh God Lance you're lucky your classes are online. Even if you turn something in late you won't see the disappointment in a teacher's eyes,"

"I think they're just hard on you because you two are their star pupils," Lance laughed. "What about Keith? What classes do you take?"

"Well some of them are the same as Pidge and I have an engineering class with Hunk but the only other classes I have that aren't mandatory is astronomy and--"

"You have astronomy?" Lance's eyes lit up at that. Keith smiled but shuffled a bit back. "I love the stars! And space and Gah! For the longest time, I wanted to be an astronaut,"

Keith let out a chuckle. "Well, why don't you? You can be in my class,"

Lance's smile faltered and he gave a small shrug. "In my situation, you kinda just learn what you're capable of and what you can and can't do. Not many would hire someone like me,"

Someone like him? Keith saw nothing wrong with a person like Lance. "In any case, Keith's talking way too low on himself," Pidge cut in. "He is top of his class after all,"

Lance's wide eyes and smile were back. "You are? Híjole, I didn't think you would be so smart mullet,"

"Don't call me that," he sighed.

He laughed in return. "I wish I could learn about space and stars and the moon!" Keith wanted to correct him that there was more to it than that but instead, he let Lance be happy about this.

"I can teach you more about it later if you're feeling more up for it," Lance's cheeks began turning a small tint of pink which caused Keith to somehow copy the same color made more apparent by his pale skin.

"Mullet, that's a low blow using my one true love of space as an excuse to hang out with me," Lance smirked at him which caused Keith's cheek to turn an even darker shade of pink. Pidge and Hunk chuckled under their breath as well. "I'll take you up on that offer though,"

"Alright stop that flirting you dorks," Hunk smiled. "We should be heading out anyways. I'm assuming you want some time by yourself,"

Lance placed both hands on Hunks shoulders. "I love you big guy but you couldn't be more right. I just want to take a nap."

"Well I'm all for naps," Pidge smiled at him. "We'll come back tomorrow, alright?"

"I'm counting on it," Lance smiled giving a small salute. "I won't keep you guys any longer. Bye losers,"

"Bye," they all said in unison.

Keith managed to convince Hunk that he was fine without a ride and, although he seemed worried, they let him leave. Pidge seemed to be more suspicious of it, however. Once they were out of sight Keith ran. Ran as quickly as he could. Finding the place where he had last stashed his outfit he grabbed it and found a secluded place where he could change. The last thing he placed on his body was his plain red mask. He should get a new one. One that secured around his head using more than just a thin ribbon.

He hated this outfit. He hated everything about it. He hated having to wear it. Something bad always followed. He looked down at the pager once more and figure out where they were to meet up. Luckily Blue had sent this a few hours ago as a memo so he wasn't necessarily late but he wasn't prepared either. He quickly hid his clothes and made his way to the place.

When he got there, an old warehouse that was almost completely abandoned, he once more was the last of the four to show up. Chip was drawing small pictures on the dusty floor under him with his legs crossed. R and N were talking quietly to one another paying him no mind as he walked in. No one else was here which released Keith of the small tension in his shoulders.

"Hey, if it isn't old Red back in the light," Chip announced when he noticed him walking in. "Thank God, I was getting a little bit bored with just these two lovebirds whispering in each other's ears,"

"We're not lovebirds," N crossed her arms. She seemed agitated in a way that Keith wanted no part of.

"We just want to know what's taking him so long," R explained.

Keith didn't really want to talk to any of them, even if Chip was being incredibly nice to him. He looked down at the small picture Chip was currently drawing into the floor. It was divided into four prices. Top left: a single straight line. Top right: one straight line and a shorter one next to it. Bottom left: two straight lines next to each other and finally on the bottom right was a straight line next to a horizontal line.

"What's that?" Keith asked.

Chip snorted as he looked back at his small drawing. "You serious?"

"I don't get it," Keith shrugged.

"It's Loss," Chip took a moment to try and allow Keith to react but when he didn't he simply gave an exhausted sigh. "Do you never get on the internet?"

"I don't have internet," he chuckled back. "It's too expensive. Compared to other things I have to get I'd prefer to spend my money on something else,"

"You poor, poor soul." He placed a hand over his chest. "Must be hard being so bored all the time," Keith rolled his eyes. He knew he couldn't see but he couldn't help it.

He opened his mouth to say something else but decided against it. He really didn't want to get attached to these people especially after what might have happened to Thace. He opted to just pass time by letting Chip fill the silence in quick games. Tic tac toe, hangman, simple games that required as little talking as possible. Chip didn't seem to mind either. He wondered how Chip felt considering he was technically in charge of them. He didn't act the part though. He seemed playful and didn't really care about what they were doing right now.

They were stuck waiting there for quite some time before they heard someone else come in. It was Blue. His usually pushed back hair was messy and the Blue lion mask did little to hide that. He walked in rather quickly barely giving them any time to get up and salute him properly. As they placed their fist on his chest he moved next to them and turned towards the door doing exactly the same thing.

"Get down on one knee and don't move," Blue said without explanation. They did as they were told before thinking too much of it. Blue didn't do it though. Instead, he simply dropped his head to face the floor and kept the same salute all of them had. Keith was trying to work out what was going on but before he could he heard footsteps again. Ragged ones that were being dragged along the floor. He heard a loud thump that made him tilt his head up ever so slightly only for him to freeze.

Zarkon stood there above everyone his face clear and familiar. Keith could care less about him; what caught his attention was a person who was on all fours on the ground desperately trying to heave in the air. He was recognizable, despite the blood dripping down his head and his shaking arms desperately trying to keep him up, Keith recognized him. It was Thace. His black hair in uneven parts and his right eye swollen and unable to open. Keith wanted to throw up.

"You may stand," Zarkon addressed them and waved the two Galra who had dragged Thace's body in away. They did as they were told except Blue who simply stood up straight as and pulled on his back of his hair to lift his head to look at Zarkon.

The others got up warily too but Keith got up so slowly it would have been suspicious of anyone was looking at him. Thace caught his eyes however and Keith could have sworn he gave him a small smile. He knew who he was. Thace was high in the Blade and was respected enough to know most outgoing mission especially Keith's. He knew they were together in this yet he looked so calm.

"It seems you've trained them well," Zarkon mumbled under his breath at Blue who simply nodded. "Now would you like to explain to your recruits who this man is?"

Blue stepped forward and turned around to face them. "He's a traitor," Keith's heart sunk. What were they planning? God, he couldn't take it. "This man has been leaking information to an outside source. In other words, he's a spy. As new recruits you are to know that this is the state all spies eventually land on," he stood with his back turned towards them once more.

Zarkon smirked. "Also as new recruits, you have sworn loyalty to me and the Galra. This is a warning to you, if even a small grain of doubt appears in your mind, get rid of it or you will unravel into the awful pit he is currently in,"

Keith was clutching his fists so hard they shook and his nails dug into his skin. He was feeling so desperate to do anything and his brain was too chaotic to create a reason to get out of here. Once more, Thace caught his eyes. He gave another smile and small nod almost as if to portray that he had accepted this. Blue caught it though. He looked at Thace and traced his eyes to turn his head ever so slightly towards him. He looked back at Thace and almost instinctively and quickly Blue kicked him in the side of his head. They all flinched at the sound. Zarkon seemed unfazed. Thace coughed up more blood. He was supporting himself using his forearms. His forehead was pressed against the ground in a desperate attempt to block out the pain. Blue stepped forward and Keith almost wanted to claw him away but instead, he had to simply watch as Blue lifted his head to face him. Behind the cloth, around his mouth, his voice was muffled and usually hard to understand so him whispering to him only made it that much harder to understand but Keith caught on to the last phrase he said to him. "Don't get the others caught,"

What the Hell was he talking about? Caught up in this chaos? It was already done. Blue dropped his head and Thace let it drop. He moved in front of Zarkon. "Lotor wouldn't mind doing this part," that name again, Keith forgot to ask about it.

"Too bad, you'll be the one doing it," he addressed. They all noticed the way he seemed to flinch at that. He straightened up a bit more as he reached behind himself and pulled out his gun.

Keith took a step forward only for Chip to quickly grab his wrist and stop him. He must have noticed how uneasy Keith was beginning to turn. His shook his head so softly Keith had to double check to make sure he was actually seeing it. He looked at him carefully when he had calmed down to see Chip shaking from his hands especially when he had finally let go. He looked over to N and R who were grabbing onto each other's arms for dear life. Keith looked back at Blue now standing in front of Thace the gun pointed directly at his head. "Any prayer you would like to say, say it now while you're still unsure about the afterlife,"

Thace pulled himself up as quickly as he could with shaking arms and exhaustion. "I have never been one to pray. I've always been a believer. Nothing in particular that I believe in but people. I don't regret anything I did. I hope that the information I have gathered is just one step in taking you all down. I believe in the Blade." Thace stared directly at Keith for a split second before facing back towards Blue. "Knowledge or death. I believe in the future. Whether I am in it or not," he pressed his head against the barrel of the gun and Blue's hands shook.

"Forgive me," Keith could have sworn he heard that but it was quickly blocked out by the gunshot that rang out. They all flinched, even Blue. Zarkon only stood there and watched as the body completely fell forward and blood began to pull at Blues feet.

"Very good," Zarkon spun around. "I expect you back and ready with the body hidden by tomorrow, do you understand?"

"Yes of course," Blue staggered with his voice. And just as quickly as Zarkon had appeared he began walking off to the exit. No words. Just the crunch of his shoes hitting the floor.

Keith wasn't going to cry. No, he wasn't going to do that here. He wanted to scream and he was clearly ready to do that at Blue once Zarkon was gone. Except once he was gone Keith didn't get a chance to scream. He was beaten by Blue as he crumbled to his knees and picked up Thace's body to turn him over.

"I'm so sorry," he said with his head tilted up to stare at the wall. His sobbing, uneven voice came through even despite the mask. "I'm so damn sorry," he placed his forehead on his stomach and sobbed a bit louder. Keith wanted to drag him off of his body. His eyes growing dark.

A monster. That's what Keith saw. A complete monster crying over killing someone innocent. Except, he knew neither one of them was that. Thace was not innocent and Blue was not a monster. Both so unreachable.

"You were so nice to me and I repaid you by doing... this," he buried his head back into Thace's torso. "I wish I was dead. Why didn't you just kill me? I can't even tell what's real or not it wouldn't have made a difference," he ripped off a piece of his shirt and began to wipe away all the blood dried or otherwise on his face. "It's okay. You'll be okay,"

N and R stepped forward. Chip held out his hand to keep them away. "Don't." He looked over at Blue. "Please, just give him a little bit of space right now,"

Keith stared at him. At Blue who he thought was a monster sobbing over the body of a man, he didn't even know and cleaning off his face. When had he started moving back? He didn't know but now he was pushed against the wall with shaking arms and the inability to do anything.

"Red? Are you alright?" Suddenly all eyes were on him. And he felt himself shrinking. With his back pushed against the wall, he began dragging himself down. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He slipped a hand under his mask and let out a whimpered outcry. Why? This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to help. He dug his head into his knees only for his mask to get in the way. He yanked it off, tossing it to his side and crying into his knees. He hadn't moved his face so they still couldn't see him but he heard the small gasps it had caused.

"Red you can't do that," Chip moved closer to him. He picked up his mask and moved towards him. "Please get up," Chip grabbed hold of the hoodie Keith had on and put it over him. "Come on, it's okay."

"You have my permission," Everyone's attention was once more caught onto Blues voice. Even Keith, he made no move to look up but he listened as his voice changed from an uneven sob to an almost calm accent hinted voice. "You must not do this. Zarkon is all but winning if you allow yourself to be fearful of this,"

Why was his voice changing so drastically? It didn't make sense for his mood to change so drastically. "Weren't you just sobbing a minute ago? What, did you realize you didn't care after all?"

"The sudden disrespect will land you nowhere except where the dead man once stood," the accent was much more clear now that he was bent down at his level. "Perhaps that's what you please?" Blue snatched the mask away from Chip and pulled the hoodie even further down Keith's face. He would have fought back if Blue wasn't quick to place the mask over his face. He moved the hoodie away and began to tie Keith's mask back on. Tightening it way more than necessary. He grabbed onto Keith's collar and dragged him up to his feet. "You recruits have truly not fathomed how much more blood and fire you'll have to go through. You signed up for it and you four need to realize that. Head home now. I expect you back here the moment you wake up understood?" They were all wary but they nodded.

Keith looked at the now cleaned off body of Thace. Between the change in attitude, Blue had closed his one eye that wasn't swollen shut. He looked almost asleep. "Understood?" Blue much more harshly repeated.

Keith turned Sep and began walking out. "Understood." He said through gritted teeth. Before anyone could call him back he began running off. Running quickly to the spot where he had left his clothes. Changing as quickly as he could he ran back into town. His landlord was probably looking for him for being late on yet another payment. He didn't want to go to him anyway, it was too lonely. He found himself in front of the hospital instead. He entered to him to be immediate welcomes by Shiro's nurse.

"You look like a train wreck," she chuckled as she began pushing his hair down. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I need to visit Shiro," he strained.

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "You know our visitation rules Keith. I can't allow anyone besides family to come to his room after nine unless they're already there,"

"He's practically my brother," Keith grabbed her hands. "Please, you know I'm good for it,"

She still seemed unsure but seeing the state Keith was in she seemed to sympathize with him. "Alright, come with me."

She grabbed one of his hands and quickly maneuvered him into Shiro's room. She was quick to close the door not allowing him to thank her. "Hey Shiro," he smiled at him looking around at the flowers that were ready beginning to wilt. "I wonder if you can even hear me." He moved to the left side of his bed examining his growing hair and pale face. The small constant beep of the monitor that was constantly on. He grabbed onto his hand. "I had a horrible day today," he sniffled in a cry. "I lost someone who was not relatively close to me but... I don't know why it's hurting me so bad." He wiped his eyes that were beginning to walk and took out his phone. "I found this really cool movie. I kinda wanna watch the rest with you but first let me find it." It only took a minute or so for him to find it. Thank god the hospital had free WiFi. "I feel like you'll really like it. It's pretty long, though, I doubt you can hear me but I just don't want to be alone in the apartment even if you can't talk back."

So Keith just sat there playing the rest of the movie all over again. He leaned his he's against the uncomfortable bed and let himself get comfortable and forget what had just happened. Only for him to pause it at exactly the same spot Lance had. His hands began to shake. Why couldn't he bring himself to press play? He didn't want to finish the movie like this. He dropped his phone. He grabbed onto Shiro's hand once more and dug his head into the mattress. He didn't get this day at all. Nor did he get why he was sobbing into the hospital blanket. He was alone right here and he had no idea how he was going to deal with it.

His phone shown the only light in the room of the unfinished movie. He couldn't find it in himself to press play before his screen went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma say ahead sorry if there are any grammar or spelling errors because I know that I probably forgot something. And red and blue will actually interact more next chapter but I'll try to get it out as soon as possible. Also, I'll say it in the back for all those peeps, THE LOSS MEME ISN'T FUNNY. like i get why it's so popular but I can't stand it at this point... It was funny at first but now I've just become numb to it so just like most memes. I just needed a stupid meme for Chip to draw and Hint Hint on who he actually was, a meme lover. 
> 
> But quick fun fact: the spirited away thing is actually based on me (if you haven't seen that movie it's amazing and I highly recommend it) . I have only see the full movie once and I always pause on the same damn scene because my dad and I used to watch it when I was kid but he would never finish it so I would pause it and I just have that habit to paid it now cause if I finish it I feel really sad that I saw it without him. 
> 
> Anyway hope you like this chapter sorry it turnd out so long!


	14. Ghost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: Ghost by Blue Foundation. (Kinda cliche im using this song for a fanfiction about ghosts but it's amazing and i really recommend listening to it!)
> 
> Ya i kinda got rid of hunk/shay because i decided to cut that part from the story and also imma just put bi-Shiro because he's apparently gay (bless adam) but i dont want to completly change how this story goes so adam will show up but hella last minute. Although i love him despite not even being on screen yet.  
> Aye just a warning this switches a lot between calling Lance and Keith their real names or just Blue and Red.

Keith didn't wake up as late as he usually did. Mostly due to the sun blinding him from the drawn back curtains of the hospital room. He had forgotten he fell asleep here for a few seconds before sighing when he remembered what had occurred. He hadn't told Kolivan yet, maybe he should, but right now he just wanted to process it before retailing what happened.

He looked over at Shiro laying on the bed not moving an inch since he last got there. He really wished he was here and actually living and listening to him. Maybe he was but that would mean he was dead and Keith didn't want to think about that.

He gathered his things together and looked down at his phone. It was almost dead which was understandable considering he didn't charge it yesterday. Blue had said to meet up again once he woke up but he wanted to eat first. The hospital has a cafeteria where he could buy something to eat. Digging through his backpack he found a single ten and five dollar bill. He could get a pretty good meal with this and then just ask for a cup to fill with water from the water fountain. He crumbled the bills in his front pocket and exited the room.

The first thing he noticed was that women again. The one who had supposedly cursed him. She was walking with a nurse slowly. She caught his eyes and smiled. "The champion is coming along quite nicely, isn't he?" He shivered at that, crumbling his fists in the process. "He'll wake up soon,"

"Alright that's enough," the nurse seemed to falter as if unsure what her name was. "Haggar, leave him be," they shot Keith an apologetic smile which he returned with a small nod.

He felt uneasy around her. Maybe Lance was wrong about the cursing thing. He'll have to ask him again about Haggar now that he knew her name. He also had to speak to Kolivan about Lotor and Thace. He sighed and finally made his way down towards the cafeteria.

* * *

Lance was sitting there on the dirt in front of the warehouse where everything had taken place. He had only gone home once the entire night and fell asleep for about thirty minutes before being woken up again. Thace and Lotor were both hovering over him. Thace over his body almost regretful and Lotor annoyingly glaring at the wall. Lance sat with his legs pulled towards him and mask already on.

"I still find no use in waiting for them here," Lotor groaned noticing the way Lance was yawning and his head was tilting to the side. "Just go home and then come back in an hour or something,"

"I couldn't even sleep if I wanted to," Lance sighed. Thace moved his attention back towards him.

"How do you dispose of bodies?" He was reluctant to ask that but ultimately he wanted to prepare himself for what was going to be done with his body.

Lance gave a careless shrug. "I bury them. Are you religious or not?" Lance shook his head before Thace could answer. "Who am I kidding, you said before that you didn't pray so I assume you don't believe in a specific God,"

"I also used to think nothing came after death as well," he looked down at his hands in awe. "Seems I have a lot of things I was wrong about,"

"You'll get used to it," Lotor sighed, playing with the tips of his hair. "It gets boring rather fast. At least you've landed with one of the few who can actually see us," he gave a small smirk.

"And you Lotor?" He countered. "You're the son of Zarkon, correct?"

"Regrettably," he groaned. He dropped his hair and flipped it so that it was now on his back. He looked over at Thace with seemingly no interest but Lance saw the way his eyes sparkled. It only happened when he was interested in something.

"Yes, I remember when you were confirmed dead." Lance sunk into himself a bit watching Thace as he put his hand on his chin and slowly itched his beard. "Glorious day for us when the notorious Lotor was found dead in a ditch,"

Lotor seemed to growl a bit. Lance didn't want them to argue, not when he could barely understand the ones around him. "Thace I really don't think you should bring up--"

"And a glorious day for me as well when my father killed hundreds of spies and officers and displayed them in the street too," he countered.

"Ah yes, that massacre was ultimately meaningless. It meant no warning or show of arms," he smirked as well. "Your death was the talk of the town, however, many things were seemingly unanswered,"

"Why would you even want answers? I made it clear from the very beginning that I would not be involved in my father's plan for this city," Lotor watched Lance rest his head on his knees.

"Yes, but you knew what those plans were," Thace glared at him. "Your body was littered with scars and directly before that, you were beaten so harshly that many believed that would be your cause of death," Lotor glared at him.

"I no longer like where this conversation is headed," he growled.

Thace looked down at the floor thinking of what to say next. "Fine then let me summarize it for you," he crossed his arms. "You were shot. Not only that but directly in the head with a bullet so sharp it slid completely through your head without causing anything more than two holes that were completely covered by your hair?!" He took a gasp of air trying to calm himself. He looked back at Lotor who was glaring at him even more sharply than before. "What I'm trying to say is, who could possibly sneak up on you and kill you without immediately being caught by your father?"

The glare faltered and Lotor smirked at him. "You have the misconception that my father ever really cared about me. The moment I announced that I would have nothing to do with his business I was cut off from everything that was his. Including our dear friend here," they looked over at Lance. His mask was uneven and his head was still resting on his knees.

"Must have been hard being neglected by your father," Thace mumbled with slight sarcasm.

"Neglect was always one of my father's strong suits. He went from speaking little to speaking nothing at all. It wasn't hard to adjust," Lotor shrugged. He looked back at the Lance. "He, on the other hand, was now completely alone,"

"Alone..." Thace pondered on those words and how Lotor seemed to gently speak them with a regretful look on his face. It was something so out of place in his character. "So you just left him?"

"What was I supposed to do?" He barked back. He jerked his head quickly which caused his pure white hair to fall over one of his eyes. "I tried to get him out. A lot of us did. My father really likes his eyes, however. His ability to see us,"

"He knows?"

"Of course. He himself can see the future. Perhaps that's why he didn't like me much because I didn't pick up on his ability," Lotor shrugged. Thace was left standing there trying to process the information he was being given. Is this why he seemed to be a step ahead of them all the time?

"You never answered my question," Thace finally spoke. Lotor cocked an eyebrow. "Who killed you?"

"Why don't you ask Lance?" He placed his head on his knees with a sigh. "He was there after all."

"...Lance." he looked over at him. "Can you--" Lotor burst out into a muffled laugh catching his attention.

"Not right now, idiot." Lotor circled around him. "He's asleep if you hadn't noticed," Thace hadn't noticed but now being told that, he could see that he was clearly asleep. "If you scream loud enough he'll probably wake up,"

Thace didn't want to wake him up. He was here all night and now with the rising sun. He didn't want to disturb the small peace he was getting currently. He sat down next to him. Lotor cocked an eyebrow from the other side of Lance but ultimately didn't say anything.

They just sat there. The sun didn't do much to stop the slightly chilly air so Lance shivered involuntarily. Thace wonders how he felt, he could no longer feel the cold. This complete numbness was so devastating to him. He stared at the sunset. It was almost completely up but the small tints of orange still streaked across the blue background. Thace wondered what would happen after this. All his life he had followed someone's order. Maybe he should have lived his life more clearly to himself. What would happen to him then? If he hadn't died would he have felt like this over time? Why was this all beginning to hit him?

"You know, death has a way of making you think of life," Lotor spoke out. Thace looked over at him yet he didn't look back. "Don't begin to regret things now. Trust me, it will be much harder for you to cross over if you do. And being stuck here isn't very fun once so much time goes by. Try to think of all the good things you did in life, you of all people have done lots of that. You lived a great life, albeit short, do you truly regret it?"

How Lotor knew he was beginning to have doubts he had no idea but he's glad he found out. For some reason, he began thinking about everything as well. About all the people that would be dead if he wasn't there and of all the successful missions that he held in his heart. He sighed out a smile. His life seemed so bright all of a sudden.

The three waited there until the sun completely rose. Lance fluttered his eyes open as he heard footsteps approaching. Opening one eye he noticed Chip approaching. He had a bag of something in his hand. "Hello boss," he seemed rather somber. Slowly moving over to him and sitting down where Lotor was now moving from. "You feeling better?"

Lance hummed and gave a large stretch. "Maybe,"

"Maybe?" Chip pondered. "Maybe is good. It's better than a no," he offered him the bag. Lance was hesitant to take it but Chip urged him once more and Lance took it. He opened it to find a small box of cherries. "I'm assuming you never left this place,"

"How did you--"

"I used to take care of a kid just like you," he shrugged. "Well, not so much took care as I just hung out. My sister had a cat that she found in the forest and when it died she sat by its little grave the entire day. You remind me a lot of her." Lance looks back at the cherries. "You didn't want to kill that man but you had no choice,"

"I'm a horrible person," Lance sighed.

"No, you're not. The way you reacted, the way you seemed genuinely sad by your actions just proves it," Lance had taken out the box and opened it but he refused to eat any. Chip noticed that and grabbed one. Tilting his mask ever so slightly he began to eat around the pit of the cherry. Lance noticed his pale skin and faint freckles on his cheeks. "You don't seem convinced that I'm telling the truth,"

"You can't possibly believe that I have any good in me. ME. The notorious Blue. The right hand of Zarkon,"

Chip shrugged grabbing another cherry. "I believe a truly good human can only be made good from a once evil decision," he spat out the pit. "I can't define you. I can't be biased in this situation. Besides, you're my boss and I'm not trying to get in trouble," Lance quickly chuckled at that small attempt to lighten the mood. "Come on, you've been here all night just eat some fruit,"

Lance said nothing but pulled down his bottom mask and picked up a dark red cherry. He cut it with his nail and watched as the dark red juice fell down his finger, almost like blood. He gave one more sigh before popping it into his mouth. They sat there in comfortable silence before Lance plucked out the stem of one cherry. "I bet I can tie a knot with my tongue faster then you can,"

Chip, now with his mouth exposed, clearly smirked. "Oh you're on," they both put a stem and began to rush tie the knot. Lance finally slammed his hand on the ground and spat out the now tied stem on his other hand.

"I won!" He found himself smiling. The first time genuinely smiling all night and morning. Chip spat his tied one out too.

"I was so close to beating you," he pouted.

"Close to beating him in what?" They both looked up to see Red approach them.

"Red, wow, you're actually not the last one to show up for once," Chip laughed pulling down his mask completely. Lance followed suit and pulled his mask over his mouth as well.

"Are you usually the last one to show up?" Lance stood up.

"Before you?" Lance twitched at the tone of voice.

"You're angry." He grabbed onto his arm thinking back on how Red was the most devastated one. "Of course, I can understand why,"

Red stared at before shaking his head, looking down at the floor. "I don't think you can,"

Lance tightened the hold around his arm. "I guess not," he walked away over to where Thace was currently standing over his sheet-covered body. Surprisingly, Lotor was standing right next to him.

"You can't exactly blame him now can you?" He said.

"You know him, don't you?" Lance looked over at him. Lotor seemed to perk up at the question. "He's a spy, I already know that. As long as Zarkon doesn't find out he'll be fine,"

"I don't," Thace answered. Lance looked back at the two to see that Chip was scolding Red.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want but he knew something of you," Lance tensed. "I'm really sorry I had to do that to both of you,"

Thace shrugged. "It's over. I'm dead. No reason to apologize now,"

Lance was conflicted about this answer. On one hand, he could just brush it off but he knew Thace was angry at him, not that he blamed him. He sighed sinking down to the floor.

"May I ask you something?" Thace said as he sat down next to him. Lance was a bit surprised but he nodded. He shot Lotor a look which simply made him shrug and look away. "Who killed Lotor?"

If Lance didn't have his mask on they would have noticed his face turn pale. He crumbled his fist up and looked away from Thace. "Why would you ask that?"

"I was just curious and I was talking to Lotor about it--" he noticed how Lance was sitting much straighter--tensing up-- at the mention of Lotor's name.

"What did he say?" Lance held his breath.

"He said to talk to you," Thace was looking up at Lotor only to freeze. The look he gave Lance was almost frighteningly much scarier then a face Zarkon could make. It was almost as if he enjoyed watching Lance struggle with his words and under the pressure of a simple question. His fingers tapping along his chin, lips, and teeth that were now exposed because of the grin he was pulling.

"I don't want to talk about that," Lance shook his head. He got up and walked back towards Red and Chip.

"What exactly did you not tell me?" Thace asked addressing Lotor. He was still grinning at Lance watching him leave. His expression didn't change when he finally looked over at him.

"So many things," he chuckled but then he simply shrugged. "I hope you cross over soon before it's too late," And he disappeared with that same grin that made Thace feel like Lotor knew exactly what the hell was going on.

"I'm sorry about earlier," Red huffed.

Lance shook his head unnecessarily quickly. "Please, don't apologize. Thanks, Chip but it's fine,"

Chip wanted to answer but his attention was drawn by sudden footsteps approaching all of them. N and R were coming towards them both of them much closer to each other than necessary. "So you guys came early too,"

"Do they always come together?" Red asked Chip but Lance listened in because he was curious too.

"Oh yeah, every time we meet they have always come together,"

"Good morning Blue," N whispered. She seemed nervous.

"Good morning," Lance answered back. "I guess we shouldn't waste much time. Now that we're all here,"

"Are we going to bury him in the same place that we did the guy last time?" Red questioned rather quickly

"I'm afraid so," Lance nodded. "Unless you would like to put him somewhere else?"

"No... no, I was just wondering,"

Lance wanted to break out crying all over again but he bit his lip and only nodded. "Alright, Chip you wanna drive us there again? I'll still give you directions,"

He agreed and they all packed together in the car that Lance had brought prior. They all got in as quickly as they could which left Lance to bring Thace's body in. Keith didn't really speak to anyone. N and R would occasionally whisper to each other but Keith didn't care for that. He had, thankfully, brought his headphones and simply listened to music the entire way there. Lance seemed to like the idea so he also used his headphones to drown out the sounds he heard. He only spoke to Chip when he truly needed to give him direction.

Just like last time they got there after a rather long drive. Keith was quick to get out but they ultimately all just found themselves staring at the make-shift cemetery Blue had created. "You guys dig the hole," Blue instructed. "I brought enough shovels for all you guys anyway,"

"And you?" Red questioned. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to gather all the things I need," Blue shooed them off and they found a spot where the dirt seemed soft enough. He watched them for a bit from afar until he finally managed to bring himself to grab Thace's body. He struggled for a bit but managed to place him on the ground gently. "Do you really have a belief in anything?" Lance asked as he ran underneath the trees trying to find flexible sticks and a stone large enough to carve something into it.

"I think I'm starting to," Thace shrugged. "I never really grew up into anything though nor did I worship a higher being while I was alive,"

"I'll just make you an arch then," Lance smiled despite knowing he couldn't see him.

"And what about you?" Thace asked only watching as Lance picked up sticks. "You see ghosts, you know what happens after death. What do you believe in?"

Lance froze. "But I don't know what happens after death. I know you turn into a ghost if you have unresolved issues but then what? You need to cross over and then no one knows. Not even I do," he said. "I don't know if I believe in a certain god. I do believe one is out there but I don't think we as humans have a right to decide what he or she or they might want. That's what my grandma always told me too," he went back to picking up all the things he thought he needed.

"And do you know why I'm seeing people more blurry than others?"

"Ghosts have a keen sense in a human spirit and soul," He made no move to look up. "What you're seeing is their souls growing weak. The more blurred a person is the closer they are to dying,"

"Are you..." Thace had no idea how to take this information. "Wait so I can technically predict when someone is about to die?"

"You learn to ignore it," Lotor smiled appearing by their side. "It's not like you can do anything anyways,"

"Yeah but you can," Thace addressed Lance.

"I don't involve myself with others lifespan," he sighed. "That just takes away from mine,"

"Takes away?"

"I get a shorter lifespan. Everything has a price," Lance explained carrying away the things he had gathered. "Everyone dies one day. Better not to interfere,"

Thace kept quiet and simply watched as Lance began to twist the branches and vines together. He slid a couple of flowers and leaves in too for decoration. It took quite a while but Thace and Lotor continued to stare as he crafted it. When he was done he finally secured it in place and looked at the carefully crafted arch with a smile. "Red!" He turned to look at him and Lance waved him over. "Come here,"

Red dropped his shovel and climbed out of the already deep hole they were half-way done with digging. "Yes?"

"Carve his name. You're really handy with a knife," he instructed. Red hesitated for a bit. He wanted to argue but instead, he simply sighed as he pulled out a simple dagger. Not his Blade of Marmora one but one that he had bought for the sole purpose of replacing it while he was here. He sat next to Blue and began to carve in, much more carefully than last time, his name. Except he didn't know it so he sat there for a bit trying to magically remember his last name until finally sighing in defeat.

"I don't know his last name." Keith handed the rock back. Blue grabbed it from his arms softly and ran his fingers between the slight narrow cuts. Keith looked away from him in favor of looking at the newly created arch.

"It's strange. How do you even know his first name?" Lance asked which caused Red to look back at him in surprise. "Even if you're mine not many Galra will take you seriously because you're new. Thace was a pretty high up there soldier yet you never asked me his name."

Red gripped the grass. Had he made a mistake? He should have pretended to be clueless but the moment he started crying yesterday that was thrown out the window. He had to think up a lie and he had to do it quickly. "Like you said," he began "he was a really well known Galra. Everyone knew him here,"

Lance stared at him for a bit until he looked down at Thace's carved in name. "That makes sense," he nodded. He got up and held out a hand and Red took it to help himself up. He grabbed his arch and began walking towards the grave that they were almost done with. Red followed after him without another word. "Of course... that wouldn't explain why you broke down when he died,"

"He was someone very admirable," Keith replied quickly leaving no space for doubt. Lance looked quickly over at Thace only for him to look down from him so he turned to look at Chip, N, and R who were now looking up at him.

"Someone admirable who dies makes you sad but never makes you grieve," he looked over at him. "You knew him, didn't you?"

"Are you saying I'm a spy?" Keith barked back.

He already knew he was but Lance really didn't want to put them more uneasy so he held up his bands in mock surrender. "People know each other; doesn't mean you're a spy. It just means you lied to me,"

Keith already knew Blue believed he was lying. He looked at Chip for some sort of intervention but he seemed just as uneasy as him. He didn't know what to say so he snapped and said the first thing that came to mind. "Why would I tell you the truth?"

Blue did seem taken back by that for a small beat before completely facing him. "That's your duty. Keeping secrets from me is basically the same as a traitor,"

"Because I don't tell you something?"

"No, because you're not telling me something I asked!" Lance snapped. He pointed an accusing finger at him. "I could care less how many secrets you keep but if I ask you something I expect you to tell me the truth immediately,"

"Why? So I can end up like him?!" He snatched the rock from Lance and tossed it to the side.

"Zarkon is the one who--"

"You're his right hand! Take some credit for that," Keith didn't know what had gotten over him. He really wanted to calm down but everything was spilling out of his mouth. "In the end, we'll all just end up like him! You're his and by default, we're all just Zarkons weapons,"

Blue snapped too but instead of retorting he slammed the back of his hand against Red's cheek. He jerked to his left and held onto his stinging cheek. His mask had been in the way but despite that, he still felt it.

"You are not Zarkons!" Blue yelled back. He had dropped all his things and was now grabbing onto his collar. "You are not weapons. You are mine and you are people. As long as you stay by my side I will not allow any of this to happen to you; to any of you." He said now once more facing the others. He let out a long sigh when they seemed to retract. "Just... trust me and, if not that, believe that I won't allow you to get killed,"

They didn't answer, Lance didn't expect them to. He instead simply turned on his heel and began walking off.

"Wow, look at you, actually taking charge of your wayward little spies," Lotor chuckled. He floated around him but continued to stare at the others. Thace looked over at both of them.

"I know you know him," Lance spoke softly. "Both of you are lying to me,"

They didn't speak any longer. The whole atmosphere seemed off. Once the grave was done Blue sent them all back to the car and finished it himself. Before they left, however, he had dragged Thace's body back and uncovered it from under the white sheet.

"You cleaned him off?" N noted with surprise in her voice. They all looked at Thace to see his face cleared of blood.

Lance shrugged. "It was the least I could do." They stayed quiet and Blue only watched as they continued to walk towards the car by themselves.

"You have a death wish," R noted. "Why is it that you're the one who is always getting into trouble?"

"Honestly," N added. "I was sure he was going to kill you,"

They made it to the car and Keith hopped in without saying a word. "I know, I told you to be careful around him," Chip sighed.

"Well I'm alive aren't I?" He huffed.

"For how much longer is the true question," Chip sighed. "I know all three of you have seen how quickly his personalities change, he even gets an accent,"

"So? A lot of people have multiple personalities," N shrugged. She didn't seem very interested.

"Well do you really want to be dealing with an unreadable person?" Chip argued. "Exactly. Just stop pissing him off Red,"

"Aye Aye sir," he mocked back.

He turned around and looked back at where Blue was pushing the dirt back into the hole. It took him a while but once he was done he seemed to simply look up at nothing just like with the other man. This time, however, after a moment, he looked down and placed a hand on his forehead then brought it down to his heart then moved it to his left, right and brought it to mouth. When he was done he got up and began dusting himself off.

"Red where are you going this time?" R called after him. Keith didn't answer instead beginning to walk in the opposite direction that Blue was coming in at.

They met in the middle. Blue froze in front of Red. "You were right, I lied to you," he admitted which earned him a small head tilt from Blue. "I knew him and I'm sorry. I just didn't want to be suspected as a spy,"

"That wouldn't have happened," he whispered.

"Can I go say something as well?" Keith was sure he wasn't going to allow him to but Blue nodded softly and Keith didn't wait for him to change his mind. He began walking off quickly. Blue turning to watch him for a moment before continuing to walk towards the car.

When Keith got there he immediately bent down on his knees and picked up the rock that had his name. He pulled out his dagger and flipped over the rock. He began carving something into it as quickly as he could.

"Well Thace, I have no idea if you can hear me, or if you're even there but one of my friends believes you are and I can't help but trust him right now. I'm sorry you had to die like this, buried like this. I'll tell Kolivan this but I don't want you to be remembered as just one of Blues many victims," he looked down at his handy work. On the back of this rock, he had carved in the Blades symbol. A jagged one that was surprisingly hard to do but he managed to pull it off. "At least know that you died for something you believed in and the Blade commends you for that. You will always be one of us,"

With that, he got up and began to walk towards the car. Slowly. He got into his seat where he was being waited for. "What did you say?" Chip wondered.

"It doesn't matter, " Blue cut in putting on his headphones. "Let's just go. I'm sure we're all done dealing with this for right now," Keith was never so happy for him to cut in. For a moment they all just sat there waiting until Chip let out a sigh and began driving off back towards the small town.

* * *

When Lance got home he simply crashed onto his couch with a long sigh. He looked at the blue mask he had pulled out of his bag for only a moment before groaning in discomfort.

"It can't be helped. He was gonna die soon," Lotor hovered near his face but noticed how Lance was beginning to scratch at his arm. "Distract yourself before you truly start regretting things,"

"And if I go somewhere are you gonna tag along?" Lance said while covering his eyes with his forearm.

"If you don't want me to then I'll stay here," he shrugged. "But you need to figure something out before your urges take control of you,"

Lance uncovered his eyes to see Lotor gone from in front of him. He had been right; he really wanted Quintessence or at the very least a couple cigarettes but he was trying to quit. He picked up his phone and began calling the first person he thought could distract him. It wasn't every day when Lotor agreed to leave him alone. The phone rang for so long Lance was afraid he wasn't going to answer but then there was a click on the other end.

"Hello?" Keiths gravely voice came through and Lance was afraid he had woken him up from a nap or something.

"Hey Keith, it's me, Lance." He tugged at the bottom of his shirt. "Sorry if I was interrupting something--"

"No, no it's fine," Keith sighed. "I actually just got home so what's up? Why'd you call me?"

"Well remember when you were telling me about your astronomy class and you said you would teach me crap if I ever wanted to one day,"

"I have vague memories, yes," Keith seemed to laugh on the other end.

"Well I was wondering if we could hang out once the sun sets and you can teach me all your nerdy stuff," Lance let out an awkward chuckle as some silence followed.

"Today?" He finally answered.

"Preferably... but if you can't today that's fine too," he rushed out. When more silence followed he simply sighed. "I've just been really stressed out and my urges are getting a bit strong... I just need a distraction."

"Sure, I need a distraction to I guess." Keith seemed reluctant but Lance chose to ignore it. "I can come over at like eight or nine if that's fine,"

"Yeah, that's perfect!" He answered. "Thanks, I really appreciate it, Keith,"

"Mhm," Keith hummed. "See you then, bye." The phone hung up before Lance could say bye back.

Maybe he was busy and just didn't want to tell him. Either way, there was still a lot of time left until eight. He didn't want to do anything dramatic so he instead decided to go to his room and crash on his bed. Ryner would scold him for that. She always said not to go to sleep on a negative emotion but Lance didn't really care right now so he drifted off to sleep while the voices of ghosts were still faint.

He woke up to a small click of the door and settled back into his bed but he began hearing footsteps so he picked himself up and made his way towards the living room.

He saw Keith standing there awkwardly and currently taking off his jacket. "Crap sorry, did I wake you?"

"What time is it?" Lance yawned while he began stretching his body.

"It's nine," Keith answered. Lance looked shocked. It had only felt like he slept for a couple minutes. "I saw all the lights off so I just kind of used the key you gave me," to prove his point he picked up his necklace where the red lion pendant stuck next to the key.

Lance simply stared at it with a smile before he looked at Keith's hand. "You have blisters?" Lance held onto his hands a bit in surprise. Keith winced a bit once he touched them. "What did you do?"

He had been digging a hole to bury a spy. He couldn't tell him that though. He was trying to get away from his addiction and Keith didn't want to rope him in. "I was just working. Carrying things up and down can do that,"

Lance stayed quiet for a bit simply looking at the blisters that had more time to become noticeable.

"Te calan?" Lance whispered. Keith cocked an eyebrow which caused him to smile at him apologetically. "Sorry, sometimes I forget to not speak Spanish around you,"

"No, no it's okay," Keith mentally slapped himself. It's not like he needed permission to speak a different language around him. "I mean you don't have to worry about me saying anything, just, if you're speaking to me translate please," he let out a weak laugh but Lance did as well so he called it a win.

"It's not permission that makes me not want to speak. I just kind of forget that most people around me can't speak it," he smiled and finally let go of his hand. "I asked if it irritates you. I have some band-aids if you want,"

"Oh, no it's really okay," he chuckled awkwardly. "They'll pop and they're not really hurting anyways,"

"Well alright only if you're sure," he crinkled up his nose in disbelief. "You some kind of secret samurai?" Lance chuckled. "Wielding your weapon enough to strike people down,"

"Oh yeah, definitely." They both chuckled as Keith rolled his eyes. "And what about you? Always hiding a gun; are you even a good shot?"

"Oh I'm the best," Lance smirked

"The best huh?" Keith gently punched his shoulder. "So you're like the sharpshooter,"

He was definitely not blushing but had anyone else been there they would have said otherwise. "So, the stars are out, any places that are the best to see them?"

"I have hundreds," Keith announced. "Come on, I'll drive. I need a break anyways,"

Lance didn't care what car they used so he simply grabbed a random pair of keys and matched it to the car. He tossed the keys at Keith who quickly caught them and looked down trying to determine which car they matched.

"It's this car," Lance laughed walking up to the passenger seat of a small red car. "You just have to match the stickers,"

Sure enough, when he looked down at the keychains a sticker of a small turtle stuck on one metal ornament. "How do you match this to the car?"

"Check the license plate," Lance said just before he closed the door of the car as he sat down. Keith did as he was told and looked at the back of the car. On the top right corner of the license plate was the same small turtle sticker that was on the keys.

"Of course," Keith chuckled to himself. He moved back towards the car and hopped into the driver's seat. "How do you not even know your own cars?"

"I don't really care for them," Lance shrugged. "I always forget what keys go with what so Allura told me to do this."

"You're such a child," Keith laughed as he turned the car on. Lance said nothing except laughed.

They drove in comfortable silence only letting the soft music of the radio flutter between genres. They both needed to think up a way to let themselves cope. Thace had disappeared from Lance's side which he was slightly glad of but worried if he had crossed over. Lance felt the car halt to a stop and he looked over Keith who was taking his seatbelt off.

"We're here," he smiled. "This place has barely any lights around it so you can see so many more stars then if you were closer to your house,"

Lance quickly jumped out of the car and looked over an open hill that looked down at the slightly lit town and overhead barely any trees so the dark sky was completely visible. "Wow..." Lance froze while looking at the stars. He clapped his hands just as Keith moved beside him. "How long have you come here?!" He laughed grabbing onto Keith's wrist before he had a chance to answer and dragged him further down the hill. Pulling him down with him as he sat down on the grass.

"You really like the stars," Keith laughed.

"They're amazing," Lance worshipped. "Like giant balls of magic floating in space,"

"I mean they're technically just a ball of fire and gas," Keith shrugged

"Gross, science. Taking away the magic in everything," Lance laughed looking at Keith. "This is like that thing, how all the stars we're looking at are already dead,"

"Actually that's not entirely true," Lance cocked an eyebrow so Keith cleared his throat. "Well light is one of the fastest things that we know of--"

"Then how does the dark get there first?" Lance interrupted which earned him a groan.

"Anyways," Keith found himself smiling. "It's really fast but it still takes a while to get here. For instance, the sun is the closest star to earth but its light still takes about eight or nine minutes to get to here,"

"So I'm still technically staring into the past,"

"Yes, in a way. If the suns light takes a little buffer to get here then a star like.... like that one," He said pointing to very small and faint light. "Could take hundreds of years to get here so you're looking at the light that has made its way here,"

"So I still technically could be looking at a dead star," Lance pointed out.

"And here is where the myth comes from," Keith laughed. "Stars live for a really fucking long time. The likelihood of a star dying while we're looking at it is extremely unlikely. Most of these stars have been around for a really long time and still have a really long time to go depending on its age when the Earth was created. So no, even if we are looking at its light from years ago, most of the stars that we're looking at are not dead."

"Wow," Lance grabbed onto Keiths cheeks and smiled. "You're such a fucking nerd. I can't believe I was dumped with yet another prodigy. We got Hunk: the engineer nerd, Pidge: the tech nerd, and now Keith: the star nerd," he flopped back onto the grass laughing.

"I mean you called me to learn about astronomy besides I prefer my piloting skills over my ability to memorize things," Keith chuckled. He couldn't find himself being angry or sad anymore.

"Just like Hunk with his cooking," Lance noted. "Which he's also amazing at. Which is totally unfair. Like how can you be amazing at two things?! Leave some talent for the rest of us," Lance smiled wider when he got Keith to laugh.

"I'll make a note to not be so talented on Tuesdays," Keith retorted which earned him a laugh himself.

"Too bad about the stars though. I kinda wanted that fact to be true,"

"Why would you want the stars to be dead?" Keith said falling back onto the grass directly next to Lance.

He chuckled as he looked back at up the sky. "At this very moment they are the same and I thought that even if they're dead I'm not the only one who can see their ghost,"

"Like how we can't normally see people ghosts?"

"Yeah exactly," he shrugged. "Guess it's just wishful thinking,"

They sat there in silence for a bit before Keith finally spoke up. "Can you usually tell when someone is dead or not?"

"Unless they're being really direct about it, no I can't." Lance looked over at him. "Why?"

"Well, who's to say that we know anything about which of those stars are dead or not." Lance was still looking over at him but he simply kept staring up at the sky. "Maybe we're just like you and can't tell which ones are alive or not,"

"Who does?" Lance stared back at the sky.

"NASA," Keith nodded which caused Lance to once more laugh. How he loved making others laugh, or maybe it was just him.

"Then I guess I'm the NASA for people," Lance found so much comfort in being by someone who knew nothing about him. It was almost like a kid building blocks up hoping it didn't crash down before he was finished with his make-believe kingdom. He knew better than anyone that it always came crashing back down, however.

"Is it raining?" Keith said getting up and wiping something from his forehead. Lance got up as well and looked over at the sky was dark clouds were beginning to roll in. "The clouds are going to cover the sky in a bit and I wouldn't want to be caught in a storm,"

"Yeah, let's head back," Lance agreed almost too quickly. They began walking to his car but halfway through the clouds seemed to roll in much quicker and more drops began to hit the tops of their head. They turned much more rapid until Keith found Lance sprinting towards the car. He stared at him running and watched as he quickly made it inside and slammed the door so quickly he could hear it from all the way over here.

Keith took his time, however, both to try and understand why Lance was in such a hurry and because he didn't mind getting a bit wet in the rain. When he finally made it he pulled himself up to the steering wheel.

"About time slow-poke," Lance grinned from the passenger seat.

"So I'm driving?" Keith watched as Lance began to take his completely dry shirt that had been hidden by his jacket and wiped away the water on his face. Keith blushed and gripped onto the steering wheel a bit harder at his now exposed skin.

"Yup loser drives the winner!" Lance smiled as he dropped his shirt back down. Both to clear his thoughts and to dry himself off Keith shook his head hard and let his hair fluff up a bit. Lance was now laughing, seemingly unaware that Keith had been staring at him. "You're such a dog. Well, actually, more like a cat,"

"I'm the cat?" Keith laughed, happy to have the original atmosphere back. "You just ran to the car to shelter yourself from the rain," Lance leaned his head on top of the glove compartment directly in front of him. He stared at the dripping water that slid down the windowsill with a smile. "Not a rain person?"

"Oh... I love the rain," he answered with such fondness that Keith felt invasive simply listening. "But it makes me so sad sometimes and I don't want to feel like that right now. Just not today,"

"Rain makes everyone think," Keith stared at the sky. "I think that's why it's so relaxing. Maybe sadness is something you don't let yourself think about and right now it's forcing you to,"

"Who knew Mr. Keith Kogane was such a shrink," he laughed softly but continued to stare at the rain. "Maybe I've just been sad for too long,"

"Maybe..." Keith thought. "But it's really not anything we can control. If you're sad, you're sad. All you can do is distract yourself and try to forget,"

"What if I don't want to be sad anymore?" Lance sighed his smile finally dropping as he hit his head softly against the glass of his window.

"I don't think you can ever stop being sad over something." Keith looked over at him. "We just learn to live with it and to distract ourselves," he began to think of Thace and Shiro. Both made his eyes water but the thought of Shiro made his voice crack. "That's all we can do. If we let ourselves, we'll just get used to it," a small beat of silence passed. Both only heard the patter of rain on top of the car and the darkness made them sleepy.

"I wanna go home," Lance sighed. "Let's go before we fall asleep here,"

Keith nodded silently. He was pretty sure Lance didn't see but as he turned on the car he could tell that the taller boy perked up. He wanted to turn on music but the sound of the raindrops and passing wind was much more relaxing as they drove off. Keith pulled up to Lance's house first just because it was much closer and got as close to the door as he could.

"It's raining pretty hard," Lance confessed. "You sure you don't want to just hang out in my house?"

Keith thought about it. He was still avoiding his landlord but he could always crash at Shiro's place if he was truly desperate. He had slept in a car for almost two weeks before when one of his many landlords had kicked him out for being late with a payment. It had been horribly uncomfortable but it was something that he would do if push comes to shove. He didn't want to worry Lance so he simply shook his head.

"No, it's fine. I'll just head back home. I would like to borrow this car though. Driving back in the rain on a motorcycle isn't really something I'm keen on doing,"

Lance almost looked disappointed that he refused to stay but he smiled to cover it up. "Yeah go for. You can keep it,"

"I'm just going to borrow it, not keep it." Keith rolled his eyes "You have way too much money. Must be nice,"

"It's actually kinda suffocating," he sighed. He jumped out of the car and ran towards his door where a small wooden post overhead let his get away from the rain.

Keith rolled down the window with a smile. He waited until he saw Lance open his door before shouting. "Night sharpshooter,"

Lance laughed and waved at him childishly using his entire arm. "Night samurai,"

And Keith could have sworn he winked before closing the door behind him. He found himself laughing at his own thoughts. Lance the huge flirt. He was making him feel glad he had hung out with him. Placing his forehead on the steering wheel he found himself unable to stop laughing.

Lance was currently leaned against the door. Smile still present. "Get rid of it," Lotor mocked. "You said it wouldn't fester,"

Lance placed his hand over his chest and gripped onto his shirt. "I'm in over my head,"

"No kidding," and despite not looking at him he could hear the slight happy smirk that was present. He looked back at Lotor to find him gone from in front of him. Maybe he could ignore it all over again but Lotor seemed slightly happy for him... Lance sunk onto the floor. Maybe he should be happy for himself too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should mention that "Calan" in spanish does not mean irritate. It doesnt really have a direct translation when used in this context because its technically slang in Mexico. It practically means when something is uncomfortable and hurts.
> 
> Ayeee next season is coming in 5 days; time to die! Anyway hope yall enjoyed this chapter, i tried not to end it on such a sad note.


	15. Fake You Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: Fake you out by Twenty one pilots
> 
> You this seems like a poorly paced chapter but I swear I worked hard on it! I've just been really busy with other projects and shit. Hope you like it! (Sorry it's kinda short too)

"It really isn't that big of a deal," Lance said picking up his cup of coffee and slowly sipping it as not to burn himself. 

"Not that big of a deal?" Allura parroted with a gasp. "You went stargazing with the local bad boy," 

"I just got urges and needed a distraction. Wait, bad boy?" Lance scoffed. "Yeah right. He's like an oversized grumpy cat. With bad hair, mind you," 

"Mhm," She began tapping her nails across the table one at a time smirking at Lance. "You know he got kicked out of like two different schools for disciplinary issues before the Garrison took pity on him right?" 

"Define disciplinary issues," 

"He kept picking fights with both the student and teachers," Allura mused. "Seems pretty dangerous,"

"Oh please, my middle name is danger," Lance shot her a finger gun and smirk. She rolled her eyes in return. "How would you even know that? You barely just met him," Lance propped his head on the back of his hand, a faint smile still on his face. 

"I do have a life outside of you and Voltron you know." Lance cocked an eyebrow playfully which caused her to cross her arms with the same careless attitude. "Pidge told me," 

"That makes more sense," Lance thought for a moment. "Have you seen the Black lion yet? He's related to our Red lion after all," 

"I have, but his condition doesn't seem to be getting better," Allura tilted her head back staring at the ceiling of The Castle. "You're better at contacting spirits but I'm still technically psychic and I tried my best. There's a maleficent spirit around him," that caught his attention. "It seems to be harboring into his soul,"

"Like a curse?" Lance scratched at his wrist nervously. "You don't think Haggar was behind this do you?" 

"Well after a bit of research--" 

"You asked Ryner?" Lance interrupted unimpressed.

"Yes and your point?" Allura huffed before going on. "Honerva was transferred to the room next door," 

"I'll figure it out," Lance said with a bit of hesitation. "You got a pen?" 

"Yeah hold on." She got up and moved back around the register where Coran was currently taking orders. He smiled at her, said something, and went back to what he was doing. She held out the pen Lance took it carefully.

"Thank you," he began drawing on his wrist right below his palm a small little cross to remind him to go to the hospital. He enjoyed drawing more then he did writing so that no one would be able to read them, although, Pidge and Hunk, have deciphered certain pictures. 

"Coran says hi and sorry we're a bit busy," Allura said once she noticed Lance was done. 

"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be helping too? Who's making the drinks?" Lance did taste a small difference in what he usually got but it was still great and almost unnoticeable. 

"I hired someone. Her name's Romelle, she seems to have some descendants from Altea too but Coran and I haven't been able to make out the specifics." 

"Wow, another Altean?" Lance clapped his hands. "Maybe that means there were more who escaped," 

"Romelle?" Lance jumped and looked to his side where he saw Lotor squinting his eyes in thought. "I recognize that name," 

"Jesus, Lotor don't just appear like that out of nowhere." Lotor rolled his eyes and continued to think.

"Lotor is here?" Allura smiled so faintly Lance almost missed it. "Tell him I said hello. Well, I suppose he can already hear me," Lance chuckled when Lotor groaned in discomfort by the flash of red appeared on his cheeks. "Anyway she's a great help around, even if she is a bit of a klutz so I could focus more on the whole reason my father left me all of this," she smiled. 

"Voltron?" Lance responded in a quiet voice. "So how has that been?" He smirked. 

"Big question for nothing in return," she smirked back. "How about an exchange of information," 

"Lance..." Lotor tried to caution but went ignored.

"Oh? Alright," Lance thought of a specific question and looked around to make sure no one was listening. "How many people, including allies, are part of the coalition as of today?" 

Allura placed a hand on her chin in thought. "About six hundred not counting rebels," she crossed her arms. "And what is Zarkons' next target?" 

Lance shook his head. "Not really an even questions, now is it?"

"You're getting better at this," Lotor noted. 

"Do you even know?" Allura huffed

Lance smirked almost genuinely menacingly. "Is that your question?" 

Allura huffed. "Fine, the same question back at you, how many new Galra are there since the last time we had this conversation?" 

"Zarkon has actually been really annoyed with most new recruits. He doesn't just bring in anyone anymore," Lance shrugged. "About ten since last year. Four of which are under my watch," 

"You're training recruits now?" Allura dropped her hands from her face. "You were personally trained by--" Lance quickly placed his finger over her lips flashing her a smile before moving his hand back down. 

"That makes me one of a kind," he winked. 

"Lance these recruits are they?" 

"They're spies," Lance shrugged. "All four," 

"Are you sure?" Allura seemed genuinely concerned. Not that Lance blamed her for it. Zarkon had trained him and so to an extent, he was one of the most skillful Galran, not to mention his closeness with Zarkon. It put him a position that many others didn't understand. 

"Well one is called Chip and I'm not really sure what to make of him," Lance questioned. 

"Chip?" Allura cocked an eyebrow. "That's a peculiar name to choose? Even if it is fake." 

"Yeah well that's what it is," he looked around. More people were beginning to come here. The problem was that even when they finished their drinks, they would linger on the tables they were sitting at, playing on their phones or laptops. "I don't think it's safe to talk about this so openly anymore." He twirled the drink in his hand feeling the heat on his skin through the paper cup. "We can move to the back if you want,"

"No, that would look even more suspicious," Allura tapped her fingernails across the table. "Let me just ask you the same question: what is Zarkons' next target?" 

Lance looked at Lotor for some reassurance as to what to do but he simply tilted his head, expecting him to answer. "It was my turn to ask a question," he finally said. "So I can't answer that,"

"Then ask me a question," she rushed over her words. They were quickly established by him but he shook his head.

"I have no questions to ask." Getting up, he was ready to simply throw away his cup and be done with the conversation.

Allura wasn't as willing to let it go, however. She reached out her hand before he could leave and grabbed his wrist. "Lance please, we have to be ready for--" 

"I'm not a spy," Lance said coldly. He was pulling his arm away gently warning her to let go but she only gripped on a bit harder. 

"I know you're not," she hesitated for a simple moment trying to come up with a reasonable way of phrasing. "I'm not asking you as a spy, I'm asking as a friend." 

Lance's eyes widened a bit darkening as he clutched his hands close. "Princess, let me go. Now, before I cause a scene." He smiled in a way that brought Allura back to the day they had first met. Back with Zarkon by his side and smiling at her as if he had won a prize. As if he knew everything and nothing could touch him. A dark cruel smile that she barely saw anymore but still was slightly intimidated by. She let go of him allowing his hand to rest over his chest. 

His smile dropped and he looked down at the floor. "It would be suspicious if Voltron suddenly knew where we were heading," 

"I have to protect people," She shook her head hiding her eyes in her hand. 

"You really don't, you want to." Lance shrugged a shoulder and looked back at Coran. "I'll take care of it and tell you as soon as we get there," 

"People will get killed," she gave a deep sigh into her hand. 

"No, people will die if you intervene," he placed a hand on the table. "Leave it alone. We only need supplies," 

"Supplies for a thing that kills and hooks hundreds upon thousands of people," Allura dropped her hands from her face and stared at him. "Lance, just tell me,"

"Why?" Lance cocked an eyebrow. "What are you going to do with the information? Leave a sketchy trail that would eventually track back to me?"

"Of course not but can you please just ask me a question so that you can answer mine," Allura hushed out quickly.

"That's all you care about," Allura opened her mouth to intervene but Lance slammed his hand down on the table making a couple people jump and look over towards him. "No, shut up! Unlike you and Matt I am still under his watch," he lifted his hand close to his chest. "I have no right to answer your question. Would you stop asking?" He harshly whispered out. 

"Lance--" she was interrupted as Coran called his name at the same time. He paid more attention to the latter. 

"Why don't you come over here while I take orders," he smiled, standing up much straighter as he waved him over. Lance glanced at Allura one last time before huffing out and walking behind the counter to stand next to Coran. "Quite busy today, wouldn't you say?"

Lance sunk down and sat by Coran's feet where he was hidden from the customers staring at him by the counter. "Yeah I would sure say so," he dragged a hand through his face and proceeded to hold onto his knees.

He scratched at his wrist unconsciously as Coran talked to a customer about an order. When he caught a glance of the youngers now red spotted hand Coran kicked his leg gently and shook his head when he looked up. Lance was irritated that he found his urges making his hands begin to shake. He hadn't even felt how bad the scratching had gotten to. He gave a small sigh and heard Coran yell an order to the back. 

"I heard you got a new employee?" He smiled up at him. "Is she pretty?" 

"I would say so but don't go and bother her now," Coran laughed. 

"I won't, I won't," He held up his hands in a bit of defense with a small chuckle. "Do you think Allura means well?"

"Oh definitely," Coran placed his elbow on the counter and leaned on his hand. "She may have come off a bit strong, however," 

"You can say that again," Lance tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling. "She's awesome but I'm not part of Voltron; I can't just tell her what I know because I want to,"

"Of course, but you must understand where she is coming from as well." He looked down at him with a soft smile that made Lance feel warm. "She just wants what's best for everyone or at least her idea of it. She wants you to be safe but wants to save everyone in the process," 

Lance thought about it for a bit. Now looking forward he hummed a somber tune he didn't remember the name of. He overreacted, sure, but he was still angry about how she had addressed this and not to mention she made no move to apologize. Lance was gonna continue his conversation when he began to hear the customers walk up to the counter. 

"Sup Coran," Lance recognized the voice but couldn't place it until Coran answered. 

"Well hello, paladins. How may I help you?" Coran's cheerful voice cut through Lance's slightly annoyed attitude and he smirked. 

"We just want the normal coffee we always get but we came here wondering if Lance was here," Hunk smiled. 

"You called," Lance picked himself up from the counter quickly and leaned his head on his hand. He snickered as he watched all of them jump back a bit. Lance thought only Pidge and Hunk were there but he caught eyes with Keith behind them. He didn't mean to but he instinctively averted his eyes from the Keiths. He seemed to take offense to that. 

"What the--" Pidge started but Hunk beat her to it. 

"How long have you ever been there?" 

"Here specifically, like an hour," He answered looking up at a clock dropping his smile for only a second then looking back at them. "But I was sitting next to Coran for only a couple of minutes,"

"Are you just allowed anywhere you want here?" Keith looked around as if the building itself could answer him. 

"Of course," Coran chipped in. "He is a great help to us after all,"

"Aww thank you, Coran!" Lance clapped his hands and placed an arm around his shoulder. "This is why you're my favorite," 

"I take offense to that," Hunk scoffed.

"Aw, buddy but you're already my best friends so you don't count," Lance hopped over the counter much to Coran's dismay. "So why are you guys even here?" 

"Ouch are you saying you didn't want us here?" Pidge melodramatically placed a hand over her forehead and swooped herself down. "If I had any feelings left I would be hurt," 

Lance slyly began to move around her and wrapped a hand around Keith's shoulder. "Oof and here I was thinking Keithy boy would say that," 

"Oh so we are talking?" he remarked with an equally condescending smirk. 

"Duh," Lance hesitated to drop his hand from around his shoulder. 

"Why wouldn't you be? You literally drove his car here after your little endeavor," Hunk intertwined his hands together and held it close to his chin. 

"Oh, Hunk how could you not possibly tell them about their stargazing." Pidge fell back onto Hunk who stumbled a bit back with a laugh. "Getting caught in the rain like a true cliche movie date." 

"You told them!" Lance huffed in annoyance watching as Keith held up his hands in mock surrender. 

"I didn't realize it was a secret," He chuckled. "It's really not anything bad,"

"Uhm," Lance crossed his arms playfully. "God as my witness I declare nothing happened," 

"Sure~" Pidge rolled her eyes playfully.

"A god?" Keith snorted. "I didn't realize you were religious,"

"I'm really not," Lance thought. "I'm not sure what I believe in. Maybe more so agnostic." 

"I mean, you see the afterlife and stuff what do you worship?" Keith tilted his head a bit to the side. "Do you even worship a higher power?"

"I worship the moon." Lance smiled looking through the window as if to find it despite the bright sun. 

"The moon?" Pidge chuckled. "Why?"

"I don't think that counts," Hunk laughed. Keith kept quiet as Lance shook his head in disagreement.

"Of course it does! You said a higher power and that is it," Lance's smile was contagious and the three found themselves smiling along with him. "It works like a mirror to help us see at night even if it's just a bit and it moves the tides to help them find their way and dance through the sand,"

"A higher power usually means a God," Keith chuckled.

"No, it means something more powerful then you and the moon is a lot more powerful than me. " He shrugged stuffing his hands in his pockets. "It's something I believe in," He said dreamingly at nothing. Regaining his composure he smiled at them once more "Well since you guys are out of school then let's hang out! I had a crappy day yesterday so you know just drive out to the movies or something," 

"If you're paying, then I'm down," Pidge raised her hand

"Yeah same," Keith pitched in sliding over next to Pidge. 

"Of course I'll pay you poor, broke students," Lance rolled his eyes. "Let me use the restroom first and then we can leave," 

"Go for it but hurry up so we can get the good seats in the back!" Hunk yelled after him. Lance only raised his hand over his head to indicate that he had heard him. 

They waited there for a bit for him and passed the time by talking among themselves. Then they heard a crash like someone slamming the door opened causing it hitting the wall much more than necessary. They turned around to see that yes, in fact, someone had just slammed their way inside. Keith was ready to roll his eyes but he was quick to cover his ears when he heard a loud bang ring out. He recognized that sound and looked to see a masked man pointing a gun to the ceiling and another man behind him. Both with dark masks but one much darker than the other. 

They all recognized that noise. They lived near the place the Galra had first emerged, a rundown neighborhood that was always active with illegal activity. That's why it was so cheap to live around here. Keith wanted to react, wanted to say something but instead, he was dragged back by Pidge who was being dragged by Hunk. 

"Keith if I know you, and I do know you, don't do anything stupid," She whispered pushing against the wall. Hunk didn't really seem worried and now that he was noticing Pidge didn't either. They more so looked curious. Keith followed their movements as they slid to the ground. 

"There's an exit in the back but we can't exactly get to it," Hunk whispered, tilted his head up in thought. "Plus I am not leaving Lance," 

"Well, the safest option is just to let it pass or something," Pidge offered with a shrug just as the two people wearing masks shouted something to Coran about money. 

"Coran what should we do?" A girl the three had never seen before stepped out. She was wearing the shops uniform with her blond hair pulled back into two ponytails. She, unlike Coran, seemed genuinely concerned. 

"Oh, forgive us for this happening on your first day Romelle," He turned back to the two in front of him "I'm afraid I don't have the key," He shrugged simply watching the two masked men fidget with the guns. It was obviously done in a rush, no planning, Keith noticed. The way they fidgetted and seemed to constantly look back. "Perhaps I can offer you something else," Why was Coran so calm? There was no way someone could be this calm when they were getting robbed.

"I have the key," They all turned to see Allura stepping forward with her hands next to her head. 

"How do we know you're not lying?" One of them pointed out.

She dropped her hands to her hips and pulled out a bundle of keys all hanging off a small keychain. "Please, we really don't need such hostility from the one holding the gun," she crinkled her nose in disgust and began walking behind the counter. "My top priority here is to make sure you don't hurt anyone,"

Romelle seemed a bit concerned, holding her hand close to her chest as she stepped back to allow Allura forward. Keith wasn't really sure what to think of their calm nature but it did make him much calmer despite still wanting to get up and knock them down. He restrained himself though because Pidge had his wrist in a tight grasp. Allura was fidgetting with the keys, obviously to by time but the two didn't seem to notice. Keith already knew someone was calling the police but he doubted they would get here on time before Allura could keep them. 

It was quiet as she finally opened up the cashier and the two seemed ready to take the matter into their own hand until they heard another slam of a door. They all turned to see Lance with his headphones on, phone in hand, and a huge smile on his face running forward. "Oh my God Pidge watch this video, it's amazing!" he looked over at the three who had now dug their faces into their hands and tilted his head. "What's wrong? Why are you guys on the floor?" He snorted and followed their eyes to see Allura concealing her mouth in front of two masked men. "Oh, are you guys getting robbed?" He laughed a bit under his breath and sat down on the table.

"Lance, what are you doing?" Keith whispered out. Hunk and Pidge both laughed a bit under their breath. The man with the much darker mask pointed his gun at Lance making him lift his hands a bit mockingly. 

"Now, now, don't get so worked up," he rolled his eyes moving his head to look out the window. 

"Get down from there!" He yelled back and at that Lance perked up looking at them a bit in shock. He stood on the chair in front of him and dropped himself down to the side as he began to glide near him. 

"I know you," Lance smirked watching the two falter at that. "Yeah, I definitely recognize your voice and I can take a wild guess as to who that is," he said motioning to the other man. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" He spat out. Pidge and Hunk were watching Allura who was pushing Romelle behind her slowly and whispering to her. Keith's eyes, however, were locked on Lance. He was making him uneasy. He found himself unconsciously sitting on his bent legs ready to run towards him if he needed to.

"Ouch I'm hurt," Lance placed a hand over his chest. "How could you not remember me?" Keith tensed up. His voice was eerily familiar yet sounded nothing like him, not like the Lance that he knew. "Granted you barely did see my face did you," He was whispering at them now completely in front of him. 

"We. Don't. Know. You." He seemed shaken up and simply watched as Lance persuaded his lips as the lighter masked man aimed his gun more carefully. 

"Of course you do," He moved over to his left letting them follow his movement so they were both facing each other. "Just because you can't remember me doesn't mean you've never met me," He pushed his leg between the other's leg watching as his breath hitched. He placed his hands where his cheeks would have been. "This really isn't a great idea," 

"Get away!" but Lance noticed the hesitation. They were beginning to understand who he was or at least were picking up hints. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Keith staring at him but he turned back quickly dragging his hands down and gripping onto the man's hand, pulling him closer.

"Now, you can't possibly do that. We had some fun together too," He whispered not allowing the others to hear. He slid the man's hand under his shirt onto his left hip. Tilting his head he watched as they began to register it. The scar he was feeling, a horribly rough one, placed directly on his hip. The one with the lighter mask seemed to notice it first and started back with a gasp. 

"You're-" 

"Ah, it seems you remember me finally!" Lance interrupted pulling back and covering up the burned in Galra mark on his hip before anyone else noticed it. Keith was watching him, everyone was, but Lance found more uneasiness from those one pair of eyes than the others combined. He leaned in close blocking his face and moving next to his ear. "You really should leave," They raised their guns at him. "Now you wouldn't want to do that," 

"Lance what the hell--" Keith was ready to jump up but Lance shot him a glare. 

"If we shoot you then we'd be rid of the worst parasite by Zarkons side, Blue" one whispered back as he pushed the gun onto the barrel of Lance's forehead. He said it quietly enough that the others didn't hear which gave off the impression that they weren't going to shoot him. 

"True," He remarked. "But what'll happen to you if it's found out, and it will be found out, that you killed me?"

"You're one of the reasons we're doing this," He strained but dropped the gun. "We just want to go away," 

"Don't we all," Lance leaned in closer. "The cops will be here soon. If you don't move, you'll be discovered. Get out quickly before I report to Zarkon about your whereabouts and trust me when I say he's not gonna be happy if he realizes you're trying to skip town,"

"You're-- You're disgusting. Just a monster clinging to his high power. You don't have a single right to be called a human," The darker masked man grabbed a hold of the others hand and ran out with him, bumping Lance's shoulder in the process. 

The customers around him got up slowly as Lance simply stood there now looking at the floor with distaste. "Lance?" Allura made her way around the counter. He lifted his head and gave her a small smile. 

"Hey, Allura," he sighed turning away from him. "Not right now okay?" He looked over at Hunk, Pidge, and Keith who were now standing up and making their way towards him. They stopped however when Allura held up her hand and shook her head. Lance slightly ran outside and lit a cigarette. He watched the smoke lift up and disappear. Keith gave a small huff before following after him. 

"I thought you quit," he said exiting. 

"I'm trying to," Lance answered continuing to stare at the shortening cigarette. "Besides I'm not even smoking it. I just like the smell," 

Hunk and Pidge exited the building too and saw Keith standing over Lance who was sitting near the door. They heard the distant sirens coming closer. Hunk sighed and sat next to Lance. "You okay buddy? They didn't hurt you did they?" Lance huffed out a laugh and leaned against Hunk's shoulder. 

"I'm fine Hunk," He smiled out and finally pushed down the cigarette into the concrete sidewalk to stop the smoke. "Just annoyed at them," 

"How exactly did you know those people?" Pidge questioned as well but opting to lean against the wall instead of sitting on the floor. 

"Old dealers," Lance said without hesitation. Keith cocked an eyebrow down at him. Although he did sound convincing the two didn't really react in the way you would to just another person who bought your drugs. Shiro always did say to take every confession with a grain of salt. 

"Well at least you're not doing that anymore," Hunk wrapped an arm around his shoulder making Lance laugh a bit under his breath. 

"We should go before the cops come." Lance stood up slowly. "I really don't want to be caught up in everything,"

"I know most of the people in the station," Keith shrugged watching as Lance seemed genuinely concerned. "Shiro used to always introduce me to them. I'm sure they won't mind us just sneaking away after they question us," 

"I don't want them to question us," Lance barked back much more viciously then he meant to. "I just want to get out of here. Allura has cameras that she can give them and literally everyone would tell the same damn story," 

"Except you," Keith noted. "Just let them ask you what happened and then you'll be fine," 

"I don't want to answer their questions, Keith," Lance sighed as he began to walk off towards his car. "If you want to then, by all means, go for it. If it's really so important they'll find me," 

"Lance, I don't think leaving would be a good idea," Pidge cut in. 

"Then stay," Lance shrugged jumping into his car. "I'll be somewhere else,"

Before he shut the door Keith placed his hand in front of it to prevent him from getting out. "You can't run away from this Lance. You made two potentially dangerous people run off, that's not something that they'll brush off,"

"You have no idea what they would do!" Lance strained as he pushed him back. "You really think I stopped doing all the shit I used to do because I had a change of character? What do you think would be there first thought when they find out a junkie was getting all buddy-buddy with those two. It won't take them long to jump to conclusion and when that does happen I rather deal with it alone," 

"Lance, you'll look even more suspicious if you leave," Hunk gripped his hands together. 

"I'm sorry buddy I don't want you to get caught up in this," The police pulled in just as Lance slammed the door shut. 

He locked the doors and waited for them to park before he actually began to drive off. "Hey excuse me, tell them they can't leave here just yet!" An officer said quickly but Lance was already driving off and picking up speed as they left. "Goddamn it,"

"I'll follow him," An officer said. 

"Wait he's our friend," Pidge got in front of the rather large man who was already getting back inside the car. "Let us just call him," 

"Sorry, no can do," he replied. 

"Hey Keith, you're not hurt are you?" Another police caught all their attention. 

"What? No, I'm fine thanks." The other police officer had already driven off which caused the three to groan in frustration. 

"Was he a friend of yours?"

"I guess," Keith sighed not rubbing away the suspicion growing on Lance. 

Lance, on the other hand, was driving off rather fast and simply listened to the sirens behind him as he drove further away from The Castle. When he was finally farther away he pulled over and hopped out of the car where the police car was parked behind him. He hopped up on the trunk of his car and watched as the officer made his way towards him. 

"You realize I'm gonna have to give you a ticket," 

"Drop the act Sendak," Lance sighed in frustration. "We put you in the police force to cover certain shit up not to be my babysitter," 

The other laughed. He hated this Galra, acting much more superior then he was. "Now is that any way to speak to me? I noticed it was your car, any other officer would have put you in cuffs by now, Blue"

"Well aren't we glad that you're more Galra then a cop," Lance rolled his eyes. "As far as they know, you pulled me over I gave you my story and I had nothing to do with this,"

"And what was your story?" Sendak questioned. 

"Get creative." Lance slid down and stepped forward to stand directly in front of him.

"Done." Sendak shrugged. "But what exactly did you have to do with this Blue?" 

"Not me," Lance lit another cigarette and took a long drag from it. This was getting much more stressful. "Two men who owe the Galra money were planning to rob this place and I just so happened to find them first," 

"You found them? Did they know your face?" Sendak crossed his arms. 

"They do now," He sighed flicking the ash from the cigarette once he took another, much shorter, drag. "I showed them my Galra scar and they knew it was me," 

"Zarkon's not going to be happy about that one," He smirked.

"That's why I need you to capture them and bring them to me first before they say anything," Lance placed a hand on his hip, feeling the bumps of his scar underneath the thin cloth. 

"And what's in it for me?" 

"Whatever you want as long as you bring them to me alive and keep this a secret between us," 

"Zarkon will eventually find out," Sendak seemed uninterested in the two. "And alive? Wouldn't it be easier to kill them right when I find them."

"Where's the fun in that?" Lance smirked back. Dropping his cigarette and stepping on it. "I'll personally tel Zarkon about this but I gave you your orders and I expect them back in the next week. They went that way," He said pointing to his left. 

"You got it Blue," He began stepping back but stopped. "And what should I tell the other officers about you?" Lance slammed the door to his car but placed his head out the window to answer. 

"Tell them whatever you want just as long as they don't bother me after this," 

"Whatever you say," Lance found no more need to listen so he slid back in his car and drove off after that. 

"Do you truly think that was a good idea?" Lotor questioned from the passenger seat. He was met with silence which caused him to shrug. "You can ignore me all you want but with that attitude, you might as well whisper goodbye to Keith."

This time Lance did crinkle up his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

Lotor smirked. "Oh don't act stupid now Lance. You saw how they looked at you. He was suspicious." 

"It'll pass," Lance shook his head. 

"Oh?" Lotor perked up, smiling at him in a way that made him look like he knew everything. "Just like Matthew?"

"He's nothing like Matt," Lance held the steering wheel tighter. "Stop mentioning him and just be quiet," 

"You need to be more careful with your words Lance," Lotor shrugged. "Especially if these are the actions that follow,"

Lance ignored him for the rest of the car ride. Instead, opting to listen to music that was very faintly playing out of his radio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYEE YOO I'm back at it again. Keith is getting suspicious and shitttt. Where would this go?? *pretend to be great at mysteries*
> 
> Also I'm like kinda disappointed with the new season but overall it was pretty chill. Pretty sure Klance ain't gonna be a thing so I'm going with my second fav ship which is, surprisingly, Plance! Honestly those are the only two ships I genuinely ship in the show and both don't seem very likely... But whatever happens in the last season I can't wait for it!


	16. The Judge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: The judge by twenty one pilots (Yay another one of their songs)
> 
> Yeah sorry it took kinda long I've been trying to do knew project plus my life stuff all on one side. Is till love this story and will try to write the best I can when I get the chance!

The hospital was poorly lit and by the curtains making Lance turn on the light to the room as he walked in. He was immediately greeted by the purple hues as the Black lion materialized right next to the still lying down Shiro. Lance gripped onto his necklace and Blue made her way next to him as well. Lance smiled. He felt so much safer with her by his side. She was warm despite not really being there and she comforted him with her presence alone.

The others were probably still back with Allura so that gave him a little time before they come, not counting the small time he wasted talking to Ryner before he entered. Shiro wasn't here, at least not his spirit, so Lance wasn't sure what to do. 

"Perhaps you should come another day," Lotor suggested. He hovered over Shiro's body despite the growl that Black gave him. "Lance, what exactly did Allura say?"

"She said she thinks he's cursed," Lance looked out the window trying to catch if anyone entered. "Should we talk to your mom first?" 

Lotor looked up from looking at Shiro to glare at Lance in return. "You mean the witch?"

"Yeah, sure whatever floats your boat," Lance clicked his tongue and stepped closer to the bed. "Maybe this is a good sign. If he's getting better he wouldn't be so out of his body so he'll be in there instead of out here," 

"Or he is truly cursed and can't move his soul any longer," Lotor watched him carefully approach the front of the bed. Grasping onto the railing he sunk down a bit. 

"Both of those have opposite treatments," Lance sat on the floor suddenly out of breath. "I either leave it alone and let him get better or I interfere and try to uncurse him,"

"Why are you on the floor?" Lotor said moving over next to him. 

"I can't," He suddenly started fanning himself. "I don't feel so good," Black moved over next to him. Lance expected Blue to do it but he wasn't really arguing. He closed his eyes instinctively as Black placed his snout on his cheek. 

"Lance! Can you hear me?" 

"Shiro?" he shot his eyes open and sat back up. He looked over at the bed that still held him. Blue and Black were gone. Lotor was standing over him looking at Lance in confusion. 

"You okay?" 

"Haggar," Lance shivered. "She definitely did something," he looked down at his hands that he could have sworn earlier were transparent. It was a horrible experience in a relatively peaceful place. He got up and ran out of the room, Lotor following after him. The nurses didn't see him or maybe she just didn't see a reason to pay attention to him so he quickly slipped inside the room. Like normal Lance saw her sitting completely still on the seat just in front of the window. 

She slowly turned around and smiled when she spotted him. She smiled not how Haggar did, it was much warmer, much more inviting. She patted the seat right next to herself and moved a bit to the left. Lance carefully made his way over and sat next to her hesitantly. "It's beautiful, is it not?" She sighed looking over the city. Lance followed her gaze. He remembered when he used to be new here. Where he didn't know the first thing about anyone or anything here but now he's practically seen it all. Every nook and cranny hiding both good and bad. It wasn't like Haggar to mention these things though. She hated this town, she still did. 

"Honerva?" Lance asked. She looked over at him quickly in worry at how small his voice was. Lotor seemed to shrink in on himself. 

"Yes, Lance what is it?" Great, now, the one time he needed to speak to Haggar, she wasn't here. 

"Nothing. Nevermind," He smiled at her ready to get up only for her to place a hand on his cheek. 

"You've grown so much since the last time I've seen you," She smiled. "You're growing into your features," 

"Yeah, I'm pretty handsome, aren't I?" He chuckled. Lotor got a bit closer and sat down with his legs crossed in the air. Lance shot him a glance but was drawn back in by Honervas small laugh. 

"Yes, you remind me a lot of my son," She looked at the floor sadly. "How is he?" 

Lance looked at Lotor not letting his expression give anything away. Lotor shook his head. "He's fine," Lance answered with a smile. Last he remembered Honerva knew that Lotor was dead and she always knew Lance could see ghosts but with her mind, Lance learned to be much more cautious. 

"Well that's good," her smile faltered a bit as she placed her head against the window. "There used to be a time when I hated this town," 

"And do you still do?" Lance followed her eyes and looked over the cars in front of him and the entrance of the hospital. 

"No, of course not," She whispered. "The people, however, are a different tale," 

"All of them aren't bad," Lance answered thinking of his friends back at the coffee shop. "Most people are really sweet to you,"

"Yes but all people are easily influenced, whether here or not," Honerva picked at a small sting from the blanket wrapped around her waist. "Lance, don't let them change you. Change in this town is easily noticeable," She moved her hand to her own cheek and, using her thumb, traced over the light red marks under her eyes. "My husband made me betray the few people that were my family," 

"You did that yourself," Lotor spat out. Lance looked over at him and saw the clear anger rippling in his face. "You chose to betray them for my narcissistic father who only wanted to use both of us," 

Honerva was not psychic not like Lance or Allura but her senses were much stronger than any other person. She, unlike most people, knew about the spirit world, knew how it connected with ours, and, consequently, could feel the presence of those not truly around her. When Lotor said that with disdain she felt the energy around him. She started back but when registering it she dropped her eyes on the floor. 

"No, no it wasn't your fault," Lance grabbed her hands. "I know what it's like to be forced into doing something out of fear. So should he," He said softly but Lotor wasn't having it. He crossed his arms and looked the other way. 

She smiled at him and took her hands back opting to put one hand on his cheek. She placed her thumb over his eye which made him shut it. "My husband wants to use those beautiful blue eyes of yours," She sighed. "One can only assume for himself. Those eyes are beyond anything else a gift,"

"Hard to see it that way sometimes." He pulling her hand away from him. "How long have you been here Honerva?" 

Placing her hands on her lap she thought for a bit. "You know, I'm not quite sure,"

Lance opened his mouth to ask something else but his voice got caught in his throat. He looked over at Lotor who wasn't paying him any attention instead, looking at his mother with a pensive expression, morphing into an almost wistful moment between all of them. Lance looked back at her. 

"Lotor misses you," Both of them seemed shocked at Lance's choice of words. 

"Lance what are you--"

"I miss him too," She smiled stopping Lotor as he was midway from getting up. Her smile was warm in a way that they hadn't seen in so long. "I remember when he was so small and I used to set him on my lap and tell him stories. I wish you two got along better though," she chuckled at the vivid memory. "He used to have such cute short hair and he wanted to match me so he dyed it white," 

"I let it grow out to spite my father as well," Lotor smiled at the floor. 

"What would you tell him if he was here?" Lance asked, a small smile on his face. Lotor looked a bit at them his eyes flickering between the floor and his mom. 

"Oh, I've said all I had to say to him. What else could I say?" She chuckled a bit under her breath. Lotor seemed disappointed at the answer just like Lance. He went to open his mouth again only for Honerva to go on. "I love you. I would tell him that. You can never say that too many times to someone you truly love. It makes both of you feel great,"

"You're a good mom," Lance smiled after recovering from the shock. Lotor still seemed on the verge of leaving. 

"I am far from a good mom. I did try my best, however, I'm afraid I had him placed in a place where he shouldn't be," She gave a sigh. "His father never did tell him that and maybe he didn't but I love him very much. We're too far apart, however," She wiped her watering eyes. "It's nothing I can help now,"

Lance felt bad for her but he had no idea what to do in a situation like this so he did what he always did when someone was sad. "Do you want a hug?" He smiled as he held out his hands. Honerva took kindly to that.

"Of course Lance." She held out her own hands allowing Lance to get closer and allowing his head to rest on her chest so that her chin was resting on top of his head. She ran her fingers through his hair. Lance didn't know what he expected but he didn't expect this to be so comforting. The even out breath and his shoulders relaxing almost reminded him of his own mom. They hadn't talked in so long. Last time he tried to talk to her Veronica chased him away. She was warm, however, unlike Haggar when she used to hold him down. Honerva had a much gentler touch. 

"Lance," Lotor made him open his eyes he hadn't even realized he closed. He looked over to see a nurse standing at the door; Ryner was standing behind her with a smile on her face. 

"If you please, visitors need to step out for about ten minutes," She said softly. Stepped out of the way from the door Lance picked himself off Honerva rather quickly. She smiled softly but let him get up. He scurried across the room and nodding at the nurse, closed the door behind him he left. 

"I see Honerva is back," Ryner chuckled under her breath watching as Lance's cheeks grew a small tint of red. "I'm glad. Haggar can be such a rude one at times," 

"More like all the time," Lance chuckled back. His smile dropped a bit as he began to think. "How long as Honerva been...here?" He said pointing to his head. 

"She recently has emerged." She answered. "Last night it was Haggar so between then and now she's changed," 

"Damn it," Lance mumbled under his breath. Ryner heard and cocked an eyebrow at him. "Sorry, I'm happy for her it's just, I really needed to speak to Haggar," 

"Well, I would assume that won't be for a while," Ryner looked at him with concern. Lance tried to ignore it. "Honerva doesn't come out often but when she does she usually sticks around for quite a while,"

"Well... it's okay!" Lance said trying to ease the tension growing in his stomach. "I have a plan B,"

"Plan B?" Lotor scoffed. "What other plan is there?"

"Thanks, Ryner!" He said ignoring Lotor. Running out he tried to avoid as many people as he could. Shiro was going to have to wait for a little while longer until he got rid of whatever curse was around him. 

Hopping into his car he wanted to call one of his friends to tell them he was fine. He had left his phone in the car while he was up there but he came back to a handful of texts and a few missed calls. most of them--unsurprisingly-- were from the three he had left behind in The Castle while one was from Allura. He wasn't really that drawn in by their commitment to this disaster but a number did catch his eye. He had memorized every number that was related to the Galra out of fear to have them in his contact information. His phone automatically deleted any unsaved number after about a week thanks to something Pidge set up on it. He knew the number, it was Sendak. He argued with himself about whether or not to call him back. 

He fiddled with his phone a bit, twirling it around on his fingers, before finally sighing. The only reason Sendak would have called him is for something important but the fact that he hadn't tried to call him again meant it wasn't that immediate. Sendak did have a way of testing the limit of something though. He quickly dialed the number back. 

"Well, look who's decided to answer," Sendak's voice rang through the groggy speaker of his phone causing Lance to roll his eyes. 

"I called you, technically speaking you're the one who answered me." He heard a laugh on the other end. "Why did you call me?"

"I've run your little errand," Lance could hear the smirk through the phone. 

"Already?" Lance crinkled his eyebrows. "It couldn't have been more than an hour. I don't believe you did it alone. You couldn't have found them already,"

"I didn't. A few people who owed me favors sound them." He confirmed. Before Lance could complain about having other people knowing about this Sendak went on. "Don't worry I took care of them as well. They have the two, I'll pick them up then kill the messengers," 

Lance felt uncomfortable with that but anyone who owed Sendak anything was already bad news so he brushed off his uneasiness. "Alright, don't kill those two though. I want to ask them a few things before I send them off," 

"Oh, a good old fashion interrogation?" Sendak laughed. "You got it. I'll be over at your house I presume,"

"Yeah just sneak in through the back and shove them in the only room that locks from the outside," 

"The little one upstairs with a pale yellow door?"

"Yup, that's the one," Lance sighed. "Text me whenever you get there. I'll be home in a bit," 

"Well, where those two are being held is relatively close to your house but I might want to tie them up more securely before heading your way," Sendak seemed to stretch from the other end of the line. 

"Do whatever you want as long as they're still conscious when they get to me," Lance started up his car. 

"You got it, boss." 

Without saying any form of goodbye Lance hung up. He felt the vibration of his car run across the steering wheel to his fingers. "Now you have two situations to deal with," Lotor tilted his head to lean against the glove compartment.

"One at a time," Lance whispered back exiting his parking spot. "I can't deal with the two runaways right now so I might as well try to figure out what I'm going to do about Shiro," 

"So mind telling me what Plan B is?" 

"You know what it is." Lance rolled his eyes as he began driving away from the hospital. "It's how we woke up Allura."

Lotor got up almost immediately. "Are you insane or just stupid?" He wasn't trying to distract Lance at this moment but the darker skinned boy was shrinking down on the driver's seat at the loud voice. "You're gonna get yourself killed if you do that," 

"No I won't, besides, who knows how strong this curse is. The longer I wait, the more risk there is for Shiro to wake up as someone else. His spirit will be gone and we won't be able to do anything after that," Lance seemed to be getting more and more frustrated the more he talked.

"You're going to have to ask Allura and I'm presuming she wouldn't take kindly to it," 

"If I explain the situation then she'll agree," Lance explained. "If she doesn't I'll just do it by myself,"

"You can't just do it by yourself, it'll be even more dangerous!" Lotor yelled. 

"Then you better hope she doesn't decline," Lance smirked but tightened his hold on the steering wheel. He had to get rid of whatever curse Haggar had left on Shiro but he needed an idea on what it did. He also needed something that belonged to Shiro or something he held dear to his heart. He could always use Black but Lance had no idea how connected the two are. "Any ideas on what we should get?" Lance asked the now sulking Lotor. 

He didn't seem to want to answer and Lance wasn't going to pry but then he looked over at him with concern. "Maybe ask that brother of his," He sighed crossing his arms in the process. "You two seem pretty close now,"

"That's... actually not a bad idea," Lance smiled and pulled out his phone quickly as to not keep his eyes away from the road. "Thank Lotor,"

The sincerity in his voice made Lotor scoff. "Just take care of your problems," 

"Will do," Lance chuckled pulling up into his house. "I should probably call Keith first and ask him if he can take me to Shiro's house," He said mostly to himself but Lotor was there so he answered. 

"Or you could just go back to the Castle and drive him home then sneak in later," He suggested with a one-shoulder shrug. 

Lance sunk back on his chair and began scrolling through his contacts with a small smile on his face. "That's plan B,"

"A plan B for the original plan B?" Lotor shook his head playfully. "You really are insane," 

"Why, thank you," Lance smiled back, hopping out of his car. He found the name he wanted to call and began dialing it as he was right next to the door. He heard a ring. It didn't come from his phone though it came from inside his house. He looked down at his phone that was still ringing to be picked up. Then leaned his ear against the door to hear the ringing still from the other end. He heard shuffling and he hung up before Keith could answer.

Lotor chuckled sliding out of the house. "Seems you have guests,"

"so I've heard," Lance couldn't help feeling a bit irritated. He really wanted to see them and apologize for leaving but he also wanted to solve the multiple problems that were arising. He sighed and opened the door that he knew would be unlocked. 

"Lance about time!" Hunk smiled at him from the door to the kitchen when he got a bit closer. 

"It's only been like an hour," Lance laughed stepping closer to him. "Where's Pidge and Keith?"

"They're in the back talking to some cop that was already here. We told you-you should have stayed." Hunk scolded and didn't notice the way Lance's face drained into a much paler color. 

"Yeah, that you did," He gripped onto the bottom of his shirt and gave an awkward chuckle. "I'll go talk to him now,"

"He might still be talking to Keith. Apparently, they knew each other," Hunk smiled offering him

"Well great," Lance dragged a hand through his face and moved over to the side only to hear a huge bump from the second floor. He flinched and looked up as if he would be able to see through the walls. "What the hell was that?" 

"Oh yeah, apparently he brought his dogs, I think?" Hunk was looking up too. "Or I think he said that you wanted him to deliver dogs for security or something? He said we couldn't go see them because they were really mean. I didn't know you wanted dogs though," 

Lotor hovered up quickly and came back. "Yup the two are up there all right. Tied up 

"Well you know me," Lance chuckled nervously. "I'm just trying to keep myself safe," Had he really gotten the two that quickly? He did tell him to bring them here but how did he manage to avoid the other three? He dragged a hand through his hair and, giving Hunk one last smile, began to walk out into the back. 

He saw Pidge sitting in the grass below Keith and Sendak who were on the hammock talking. Keith's eyebrows were crinkled together, unsure of Sendak's words, while the other sat up straight with his eyes closed. Stepping closer Keith quickly looked over at him then back at Sendak but registering it was him completely turned his head to look at him. When Pidge noticed she turned around from the floor and smiled. 

"Well look who's finally here," Sendak spoke, smirk growing when he noticed how angry Lance looked at him.

"What are you doing here so early?" Lance said tilting his head. 

"I need to make a follow-up report," He said. "Plus I've brought the little dogs that you wanted. Good thing I got here first or who knows how much they would have freaked out. Biting and scratching at your friends here," His eyes turned dark but quickly lightened when Keith looked over at him. "Good thing they're all tied up and ready to go,"

"Yeah, good thing. If they had gotten hurt you would have gotten in a lot of trouble." Lance gritted out the threat. "Bringing in a dangerous animal into my house after all,"

"Oh it was simply under your request," Sendak threw back. 

"Speaking of, why would you want dogs?" Pidge smiled at him. 

"That back at you, I don't want them anymore," Sendak cocked an eyebrow as Lance spoke. "I'm going to sell them once all of this blows over,"

"Sell them? And I suppose you want me to break them in?" Sendak said back.

"No, I'll get my hands dirty. I just need you to watch them for a bit," Lance looked over at Keith. "Now, Keith would you be a dear and take me to your house?" 

"My house?" Keith questioned. "It's actually my brother's house while I deal with my... living situation," 

"Even better!" Lance clapped his hands trying not to seem too excited. He really needed to get something closely linked to Shiro and if anything it would probably be in Keith possessions. "Let's go; just us four," He glared at Sendak but moved back to smile at the two. 

"What about the cop?" Lance flinched and turned around to see Hunk tilting his head down at him. "We can't exactly just leave him here,"

"Why not?" Lance chuckled. "Keith you know him right? Do you trust him?" He squinted. If Keith did, then Sendak was doing a great job as an undercover Galra. If he didn't that meant he was being obvious and sloppy with his part. Both options terrified him. 

"Well, it's not that I really know him. Shiro knew him and so I just knew his name," Keith explained. When Lance seemed to think on that Keith blew his hair out of his face and looked over at Hunk then Pidge who both only shrugged. 

"What should we do?" Lance sighed looking at Lotor who was sitting on the grass as well. 

"Why are you asking me?" He said playing with his hair. 

"Because you know the whole thing," Lance commented continuing to look down at him. 

"Should you really be talking like that in front of everyone?" He huffed out a chuckle and looked up at Lance who only shrugged. "Well, you can deal with those two whenever you want but Shiro's curse seemed pretty severe considering the red paladin mentioned it a few days ago," His smile had turned into a thoughtful frown.

"You're right," Lance said hitting his fist in his palm. "I guess it'll be quicker to do that. Thanks," 

He gave him a two-fingered salute and fell back against the ground. He hair was on his shoulders so falling back he pushed it back causing it to surround his head and curl against the grass. He put a hand over his chest in a loose fist while the other one was placed just above his head. Eyes watching the sky for nothing. Lance watched him for a bit. He was much more intimidating then people seemed to notice; he had a beautiful face to mask those characteristics. Despite knowing him for so long Lance could never get over the somber atmosphere he gave out. When he was calm and tranquil his facial features seemed to relax and became much more endearing. It made Lance's heart tight. Something so beautiful that was lost under circumstances that they themselves had no control over. Times like this he found himself admiring Lotor. 

He was snapping his fingers at him making Lance shake his head and blink away his thoughts. A small blush colored his cheeks as he cleared his throat of nothing. Lotor stopped his snapping and pointed at the four now staring at him. "Tell them before they get suspicious,"

"Ri-right! Yeah sorry," The pale-skinned man seemed to be eyeing him up and down in thought before looking back at the sky. Eyebrows still pushed together but a faint smile tugging at the ends of his lips. Lance turned toward the three waiting patiently and smiled. "Sorry, I got a bit distracted,"

"So we saw," Pidge chuckled. 

Keith shook his head. "It's fine, man. Did you come up with a solution?" 

"Something like that," Lance looked back over at Lotor who was now gone from his previous spot. 

"Who exactly were you talking too?" Sendak stretched. 

"You know, my old fighting buddy," 

"Oh is that so?" Sendak seemed amused and that caused Lance to grip onto the bottom of his shirt. 

"Yeah would you believe it," He replied sarcastically. "Now would you be a good cop and watch the dogs while we go to Keith's brother's house," 

"Shiro," Keith commented. "And do you seriously want to go now?"

"Well if it gets me out of office work I'll be happy to do it," Sendak said ignoring Keith. "Why exactly do you need to go there though? I have to make sure it's something worth staying here for," Keith eyed him too. Trying to figure out why he wanted to go there. 

Lance groaned in irritation and stepped forward, leaning into Sendak's ear and whispering, "Why are you asking so many questions? You should know I always keep my end of deals and never want to owe anybody anything. Should I remind you that you are much less valuable then you make yourself out to be?" He pulled back to see the cop's once condescending smirk turn into an irritated scowl.

"Fine. I'll watch your stupid pets." He got up and began walking back inside. 

"Aye, pero porque se enoja?" Lance returned the previous smirk following him and motioning for his friends to follow him too. "Just tire them out so they won't be as angry when I get back," 

"Fine done," He said a bit too quickly. 

"Geez, what did you tell him?" Hunk whispered in his ear. Lance simply shrugged his shoulders. 

"It doesn't matter anyway," He moved over to Keith and smiled. "Now let's go! We have to make this fast though," 

"You still haven't told me why you wanted to go," He crossed his arms only for Lance to wave his arms. 

"Don't worry about it," He considered telling him. He was the one that mentioned the curse, to begin with, but there was also no need. He would just pointlessly worry him. Plus, if he did he would have to say that he saw Shiro or it wouldn't make a lot of sense and Keith would obviously not react well. "Yeah, it's fine. Let's just hang out for a bit there. Hunk would you do the honors of driving us?"

"Of course," Hunk said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

Lance watched Sendak move upstairs with his hands shoved in his pockets. He sighed and looked over to see Keith squinting at where he was moving in thought. Something he said might have made him suspicious of Sendak so Lance shook his worries away and linked his hands around the top of Keith's arm. He seemed shocked at that looking at him as if he was about to snatch his hand away but when registering who it was he simply gave a warm smile. 

"Come on, you're in charge of the directions after all," Lance pulled him along watching as Keith rolled his eyes. "Can't keep me waiting,"

"Oh no because we know what's at stake," Keith said back with a small hint of sarcasm. 

Lance laughed walking out of his house and making their way towards Hunk's car parked on the side of the road. Climbing in, Pidge got to sit in the front-- like always-- and Keith and Lance got stuck in the back. They drove for a little while bickering about small things and Keith occasionally giving Hunk directions. 

"All I'm saying is that Asylum would have been so much better had the aliens not been there," Lance was holding up his hands in defense. Pidge whirled around to stare at him. 

"Are you crazy? The aliens are what started and ended the season," She argued. 

"Doesn't make it good," He crossed his arms. "I'm a huge fan of aliens but, honestly, I forgot they were there half the time. Then there are angels which makes it more confusing. They just seem shoved down you're throat, you know? Like, 'Hey look! We got aliens!'. Not to mention they use them only when they need to wrap things up,"

"Naw, they were more necessary to figure out other peoples problems," she noted. "They added more mystery,"

"What the hell are you guys even talking about anymore," Hunk laughed. 

"Turn right here!" Keith suddenly yelled out causing Hunk to quickly swerve into the street and earn a few annoyed honks at him. 

"A little warning next time Keith," He complained as he steadied the car.

"Sorry I was a bit distracted," Keith said while glaring between Lance and Pidge. 

"Not our fault you're uncultured," She shrugged in response. "How the hell have you only seen Freakshow? That's like the second worst season!" 

"I've seen coven too," He defended.

"Did you just like completely skip over the first season or?" Lance was staring at him trying to decipher what he was thinking.

"Shiro watched it," Keith rolled his eyes. "I watched like one episode and wanted to know what happened next,"

"Boo you whore," Lance fell back against the seat while Keith only smiled at him.

"If you guys are done talking about American Horror Story, I would really like to know where to stop," Hunk said from the front. 

"Sorry yeah," He leaned over and stood directly in between the passenger and driver's seat. Pointing forward he continued. "You see that blue house; the one with the pride flag in the door?"

"Yeah, that's it?" Lance leaned forward as well to look at it. 

"Yup, I've been crashing there for a while," 

"Have you two ever heard of seatbelts?" Pidge glared at the two now crushing her against the window. 

"Oh be quiet you little gremlin," Lance focused on the house that Hunk was now pulling up too. "Aw, it looks so cozy,"

"Oof you should see inside," Keith whispered. "He decorated none of it but it makes you feel so warm," 

"Who decorated it then? I didn't know Shiro lived with anyone," Pidge questioned getting out. They all followed her example and hopped out. 

"Well, I'll show you," Keith smiled pulling out a key hug in a small iron circle and walking to the front door. Unlocking the door he pushed it open and stepped to the side. "Welcome to my humble abode dorks,"

Lance got in first. He moved quickly to allow the others in and only saw room because of the blinds pulled to the sides and tied at the top to prevent them from covering the sun. Lance heard a hum but it was slowly drowned out when Keith closed the door and began walking towards the living room. 

"Wow, Keith you actually brought home friends! That's a first in a while," Lance heard the voice but the way the others reacted he assumed they didn't. He looked around, obviously, the voice was near or else it wouldn't have called for Keith but he saw nothing. 

"Come on in. Lance, what exactly did you want to do here?" Keith questioned only to go ignored as he was currently looking around. 

"Whatcha looking for, buddy?" Hunk smiled. Pidge playfully waved her hand. 

"Seeing a ghost Lancey Lance?" She crashed down on the couch. 

"No..." Lance blinked his eyes and smiled over at her stepping forward and around the front wall of the living room. "Just hearing things," 

"You really know how to pick them, don't you Keith?" the same voice laughed but this time Lance did catch it. He whipped around and startled Hunk who was directly behind him. 

"What the matter?" He asked. "Does this have too much stuff going on," 

"No that's not it," Lance moved forwards following where he heard the voice. "Hello?" He raised his voice but made it remain gently. 

"Is he seeing someone?" Keith questioned Pidge. 

"Probably," She said in return. "But Lance why'd you even want to come here?" 

"I wanted to get something," He said slowly. When they figured Lance wasn't going to stop moving forward, they followed after him. Lance was feeling the small somber energy. Usually, a ghost didn't give out anything so potent so he wasn't surprised at how small it was. He put his hand over the door. "Can I go in here?" 

Keith seemed uncomfortable. He flickered his eyes between the door and Lance who looked at him with determined eyes. He dragged a hand to the back of his neck and gave a sigh. To not seem so uptight he smiled, "Go ahead," 

Lance immediately opened the door to find an ordinary room. It almost reminded him of his dad's room before he left, the plain yet matching colors and everything put into a neat order. The bed was in the middle of the room; lying there, was a man. He looked older than him but still relatively young. Darker skin than himself but brown hair that was much darker. His eyes were closed but despite that, they shone behind the small red glasses balanced on his nose. He was lying on the bed, one leg propped over the other and hands behind his head. He opened one eye and sat up when he noticed all three of them now awkwardly standing at the doorway waiting for Lance to say something. 

"Well hello. Keith geez just barging into my room," the man laughed and Lance watched his now noticeable hazel like eyes scanned them up and down. Lance moved over to something that caught his eyes almost like a small alter just propped up on the corner. Candles that were unlit and two dog tags were resting on it. A few flowers scattered around and pickers decorating the side. 

Lance picked up a picture of the ghost now hovering over him. "Lance please don't touch that," Keith cautioned from the door taking a single step forward. Hunk and Pidge both leaned in in curiosity. 

"Sorry I just," He groaned in discomfort. He didn't know what to do. He didn't expect a ghost to be here. Of course, knowing Shiro's line of work he should've at least considered it. Lance continued to look at the photo. "Name... Your name?" 

"You want my name?" The man asked chuckling. "Not like you can hear me even if I introduce myself." He gained a conflicting feeling on whether to tell him or not that he could see him. 

"His name?" Keith heard as well. 

"Yeah, I've never seen him either," Pidge confessed looking a the photo. 

The ghost whispered his name making the only boy who could hear him shiver in discomfort. Keith noticed and began talking again. "His names--"

"Adam," Lance whispered. Keith's breath noticeably hitched. Lance didn't want to tell him that he saw him but Adam caught on. He looked at him with wide eyes. 

"Wait, you can hear me?" he sounded so relieved. 

"How did you know that?" Pidge cocked an eyebrow. Lance chuckled he looked at Hunk who was looking at Keith with concern. His hands were flexing and unflexing at his sides. He couldn't tell him. He would break down if he told him Adam was here. Shooting Adam a look that confirmed he could see him he picked up the dog tag on the side before Pidge had a chance to see it. 

"His name is on here," Lance smiled eyeing Keith in the corner of his eye to make sure he was calming down. Adam's smile grew. 

"I can't believe you can see me!" He laughed shooting himself up in the air and doing a backflip in the air. "Oh my god, you don't get how boring it is to not be able to do anything social," Lance tried to restrain his laughter.

"The dog tag?" Keith moved forward. "Oh... I forgot those were there." He smiled picking up the other one with Shiro's name etched into the metal. "Yeah, Shiro used to wear his all the time, as a memory you know. Adam was his boyfriend after all. He didn't get much time to grieve though," 

"Healthy grieving is really important when letting someone go," Lance shook his head feeling the way Keith watched him. "So Shiro really liked these?" 

"Oh yeah, definitely," He laughed. "More so Adam's then his own but they're really important to him so I would be much more comfortable if you set them down," He tried to sound delicate and Lance appreciate d that so he gladly set it back down. He found the thing he needed to help Shiro much faster then he expected. This was going to be hard especially considering it seemed Adam was stuck on the dog tag. 

"Of course, sorry." Lance smiled. "Let head back to my house!" 

"Already?!" Hunk and Pidge said in unison. Adam chuckled from behind him. 

"You can't be serious?" Pidge complained. 

"We just got here," Hunk moped. 

"What was even the point in coming here?" Keith questioned. "You looked at one thing and now you want to go?" 

"I just wanted to make sure you were living somewhere good." Lance smiled at him. "Because you're broke and you keep mentioning that you're avoiding your landlord," 

"You're doing what!?" Adam scolded from his shoulder. "Bad Keith, I taught you how to manage money!" Lance chuckled under his breath.

"I'm fine if I needed help I would have asked you," He defended himself. 

"No, you wouldn't have," Pidge rolled her eyes. 

"Yeah, no offense, but you seem really stubborn. Not a person I would expect to talk about money problems," Hunk added in. 

"Jeez what am I going to do with you," Lance face-palmed. "You realize I'm like smoking rich," 

"Wow, how does a kid like you have so much money?" Adam hovered around him.

"It's awkward," Keith crossed his arms. "Asking for money," 

"It really isn't," Lance laughed. He pulled out his phone from his back pocket and set it carefully on the bed. Next, he pulled out his wallet. "See now you don't even have to ask," 

"Nope," Keith said almost immediately and raise his hands as if surrendering. "I am not taking that."

He watched Lance pull out a couple of double-digit bills. "Just take it, loser," 

"Nope. Nope. Nope." He turned and closed his eyes. "I really don't like owing anyone,"

"You're not going to owe me anything," Lance rolled his eyes. and pushed the money forward. "Take the money!"

"Now is not the time for '21 chump street' references," Hunk added chuckling with Pidge. 

"Shit, if you don't want it I'll take it." Pidge raised her hand and snatched it out of Lance's hand. 

"What? No!" Keith yanked it back with a glare causing her to chuckle to herself. Keith extended his hand for Lance to take it again but this time it was him who raised his hands in surrender. 

"Nope, it's yours now," 

"What the-- you tricked me!" Keith crumbled the money in his fist.

"All fairs in love and broke-ness," Lance laughed pushing them away. "Now come on let's go," 

"Wait, uh, kid you forgot your phone," Adam yelled as he watched them begin to leave. Lance looked back but continued to ignore the comment. "Hey, your phone!" He tried again. Lance shot him a look but continued to laugh and talk with the three friends he was pushing out the door. Adam following them as far as he could reach. 

They made it in the car and all got comfortable. Lance begin to fakely pat around his body as Keith buckled up his seat belt and leaned against his seat. "Oh crap, I forgot my phone inside," Lance sighed. 

"How the hell--" Pidge rubbed her face with her hands. 

"Man," Keith groaned, "Fine let's go get it," He reached over and was about to unbuckle himself when Lance interrupted.

"No!" He said much more forcefully then he meant too. "I know where it is just let me borrow the key and I'll be in and out in less than a minute," 

Keith was cautious but he trusted Lance enough with that. "Fine," He sighed taking out the keys. "Don't take too long!"

"I won't!" He ran off quickly. Unlocking the door and coming inside as fast as he could. 

"Oh you're back," Adam smiled. "So you can really see me?" 

"Yup," Lance popped the P and made his way back inside the previous room. His phone was still sitting on the bed. "I can't really talk right now but we can talk in my house," Lance smiled picking up his phone. 

"No, I can't leave this house. It doesn't let me," Adam explained. 

"Well," Lance sighed picking up the dog tag. Adam pushed his eyebrows together. "Now you can." He stuffed it in his back pocket, making sure it was completely hidden, he began running out of the door. 

"Hey wait! You can't just take that!" Adam yelled following him out the door. 

"I need it," Lance gave little explanation as he hopped back in the car. "See not even a minute," Lance waved his phone in his arm as proof and smiled at Keith as he handed back the key. 

He took it and smiled back. "So where to now?" Hunk shrugged. 

"I really just want to sleep so can you drop me off," He smiled sheepishly. 

"Lame," Pidge complained. 

"Of course buddy," Hunk started up the car. "You sure you're okay though? You look kind of pale," Lance was pale because he noticed the way Keith eyes him and Adam was currently scolding him in one ear and he didn't bring his headphone to block anything out. Now he was stuck between these two. 

"I'm fine," He smiled trying to convey his feelings. "You know too many voices can make you just want to sleep everything off," He nodded in understanding causing Lance to let out a breath he had instinctively been holding. Lance buckled himself in and leaned back in a much more comfortable position on the seat. Looking out the window he tried to ignore the now sulking Adam next to him and the dog tag that was not pushing up against his back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who decided to add in Adam hella last minute; this gal! He deserved better and he was only in like two episode for like 2 minutes each sooo he deserved better. Sadly, he's still dead in this universe but not sadly shiro'll actually get to talk to him! 
> 
> Pero porque se enoja?= 'But why are you getting angry?' (directly translated it would be 'but why is he getting angry?' and for some reason google translates it to 'But because he gets angry' which is a direct translation of each word separately but not the meaning of the sentence. Unless you use a question mark at the end. in which case it'll be a much directer and accurate translation.) In this context, as he's using it sarcastically, it's teasing him over why he's getting angry because he should have already known it was true. 
> 
> Okay I need to note, cuban Spanish is different from Mexican Spanish. Obviously it's the same and we can understand each other but for non native speaker the way Cuban's speak spanish is actually kinda hard for people to understand. heck even I get stumped sometimes on what they say because they talk a lot faster and they drop certain vowels and shorten words regularly. SO for the sake of ya'll who don't speak spanish I'm not gonna write out what it would sound like in cuban and since I'm mexican I'm using mexican slang which is different from cuban slang but hey, it's Spanish so enjoy! (I'm trying my bes with what I got! SORRY FOR RAMBLING LOVE YALL


	17. Lovely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: Lovely By Billie Eillish and Khalid
> 
>  
> 
> hahaha... wow, almost 2 months... O O F 
> 
> I would give yall excuses but its simple, i was busy. Since Christmas break is coming up I'll try to update quicker but I am working on another fanfic that unlike this oneI want to completely finish before posting. Forgive me again. Comments are appreciated!

Lance was lying on his couch. He had gotten here almost ten minutes ago and despite everyone wanting to stay he insisted they leave so he could sleep. He hadn't slept more than a few hours because of it being too loud and despite truly wanting to just fall asleep he had to take care of the two now silent people up in the room. Sendak hadn't noticed he had returned so he still hadn't come down and small tranquility was actually kind of amusing to him. He was simply lying there dangling the dog tag over his face. Lotor and Adam hovering next to him. 

"Do I know you?" Sitting down on the floor, Adam looked up at Lotor who followed his movements. 

"Many people do," he answered. "But I suppose I wouldn't know you." Crossing his legs he propped his arm against his leg and rested his chin on his hand. "How important were you?"

"Excuse me?"

"In the Garrison," Lotor clarified. "I'm assuming that's where you worked,"

"That is where I worked," He confirmed with a nod but refused to go into more detail. Lance watched them interact. White hair was flung over the shoulder of the owner with a sigh. 

"My name's Lotor," He smirked ready for Adams reaction and Lance perked up too unsure on how he would react. Lance wasn’t really sure of what to think by the now conversing ghosts. Adam obviously knew who Lotor was, yet, he wasn’t scared. He didn’t falter. He just sat there like he had said a completely normal name that wasn’t linked to one of the worst man currently alive. Lance was taken aback but Lotor was much more confused at the lack of reaction. 

“Nice to meet you,” Adam extended his hand, warm smile still on his face. 

Lotor looked cautiously down at the hand cocking an eyebrow he looked back up at Adam. “That’s it? No huge reaction?”

“If you want a huge reaction you won’t find that from me.” Adam never dropped his hand an invitation for Lotor to take it whenever he wanted. “My job involved you. Having a father like Zarkon wouldn’t produce a healthy parenting strategy. It was obvious, then once you died it was over. I'm not going to blame you for something your father had more control over," 

Lotor still looked confused but it lasted a short while as it was replaced with a small smirk. He gripped onto the others hand. "Nice to meet you as well,"

As soon as they released hands Adam shot a glare at Lance that made him want to shrink into his skin. "So why'd you take it?" Adam looked at him with his arms crossed. Lotor was staring at him with interest.

"Is this what's connected to Shiro?" Lotor asked catching Adam's eye at last. 

"Shiro? Wait, is he alright?" He interrupted prompting Lance to look over at him and smile. 

"It's okay; he's still alive." Lance sat up. "You've probably seen him, haven't you?" 

"He follows Keith," He smiled. "He never notices me so I just assumed that no one could," 

"Only other ghost can," Lotor explained. "Plus people like Lance," He rested his head on his hand, crossing his legs on the floor. 

"He's asleep right now, Shiro that is, but I really just need this or he won't wake up," Lance was outstretching it like he wanted to give it back if Adam wanted to but he only seemed to gasp looking down at the dog tag with his name on it. 

Adam hovered his hand over it, contemplating on taking it or not. In the end, he just huffed out a sigh through his nose. His smile seemed to grow much sadder. "It's Shiro's. I gave it to him." He moved his hand back and placed it on his lap. "He should keep it but..." Lance cocked an eyebrow at a price that was about to be named but relaxed when Adam seemed to blush. "Could you help me talk to him?"

Lance smiled back, "Of course. Thank you," He fiddled with it between his fingers. "I'll make sure he wakes up," He traced his fingers across the indented letters letting the two watch him. 

"So you're finally back?" Lance started, hopping up from the couch and turning around to see Sendak standing there with his arms crossed. "You just didn't bother to tell me?"

"Sendak? What is he doing here?" He heard Adam whisper behind him. 

"Stop taking everything so seriously," Lance waved his arms dismissively. "I kinda just forgot you were in here," 

"Hard to believe that you would forget something like that," Sendak scoffed when he noticed Lance glancing to his side. "What? Can Blue not keep still without seeing and hearing your little imaginary friends? Zarkon would do better without someone so lost of reality,"

Lance was ready to make a comeback but flinched and covered one of his ears when Adam jumped up from behind him as well. "Blue? Zarkon? Wait are you serious!?" He floated around to face him. 

"So he gets a huge reaction but I don't?" Lotor scoffed moving beside him as well. 

"Well between the wayward son and the loyal soldier both were quite... troublesome," Adam shivered. "Lance, don't tell me..." 

"Oh shut up, not my fault he chose me before you," Lance tilted his head and smiled at Sendak.

"Some person," Sendak rolled his eyes. "Whatever just take your freaking dogs. They exhausted themselves out,"

"You didn't hit them did you?" Lance stepped forward ready to climb up the stairs. Sendak moved in front of him and placed a hand on his chest to stop him. 

"Relax, I didn't touch them without reason," Lance slapped his hand away. "They just kept moving around and instead of hitting them, every time they moved too much I tightened their restraints," 

"Define moving too much?" Lance cocked an eyebrow but shook his head. "You know what, nevermind. I'll take care of the rest Sendak. Go back as a loyal soldier to the cops," Lance saluted him mockingly as he glared in return. 

"Much more loyal than you," he remarked moving forward and towards him. He looked about ready to punch him but Lance knew that he knew better than to do that so he didn't falter as he passed him. 

"I suppose you're right but you're much less useful," Lance began moving to the stairs. Hearing the cracking on the floor stop with Sendak. "Get out of my house," He didn't look back. There was no use in it. He heard the door slam only halfway up the stairs. 

"Sendak has yet to be figured out," Adam whispered to himself.

"Yup, he's our spy on the inside," Lance sighed. "Certain cops have come close to figuring it out but overall no one has actually exposed him," 

"Shiro had suspicions about him," Adam confessed. "It was always something I couldn't see," 

"Welp it was real." Lance stopped in front of the pale yellow door that Sendak had left the two. It was locked, unsurprisingly, but he still found himself unsure of the door. 

"Lance, just go in," Lotor interrupted. "It's like a band-aid just rip it off," 

"What exactly is in there? Dogs?" Adam groaned in discomfort. "I feel like they would make more noise,"

"That's because," Lance pushed the door open gently. "They're not," He sighed stepping forward and listening to Adam gasp. Lance hissed in response to seeing the two as well. They were sitting up against each other's backs, hands tied behind them. It seemed almost as if they were holding each other's hands but instead their fingers twitched and seemed so strained from how tight the ropes were around them that they didn't even close their hands. "Quiznak!" Lance fell to his knees and moved over next to them. "The tips of your fingers are purple! God, does Sendak even know what he was doing?" 

They were glaring at him or at least trying to but they looked so exhausted that Lance was afraid they were going to pass out. The gags were tightly pulled and roughly placed causing their mouths to strain and redden. 

"You might want to loosen those up Lance before they lose feeling in their fingers," Lotor noted moving next to him. Lance shot him a concerned look and turned around at the oddly silent Adam only to find him gone. "That can't be good. Lotor go check up on Adam or at least try to find him I'll take care of this," 

"Aye, aye captain," Lotor saluted. He seemed rather annoyed but left anyways leaving Lance alone with the two in front of him. He scooted closer to them only for them to flinch back. Lance was hurt but he didn't think it was wrong of them. Looking at their wrists more closely he noticed that the rope had dug into their skin and caused blood to dry around the rope. "You guys okay?" He hit his head. "Of course you're not. Not that you can say anything," He pulled at the gag so that he was facing away from Lance and began untying the knot letting the cloth drop around their necks. 

He saw the way they rolled their jaws to make them much more comfortable. "What are you doing?" He asked Lance harshly.

"Why keep us alive?" The other one heaved between exhausted gasps as soon as the gag was gone from his mouth. They both twisted their hands against the rope and Lance slammed his hands down on the floor accidentally making them flinch. 

"Don't do that! You'll only hurt yourself more," He scolded. Scooting away from them and moving over to a cabinet on the other side of the room. He was aware of the two pairs of eyes following but he only pulled out a small first aid kit stuffed in one of the shelves. When he turned back to face them they seemed to be whispering something to each other. Tousled blond hair tangling together with the brunettes but they didn't seem to care. "Can I fix up your wrists?" 

"Why?" He seemed hostile. Lance didn't blame them but he was a bit frustrated. 

"Just to fix you up," He pulled the blond around to get to the ropes. "If I release your hands you won't do anything dumb will you?" 

He scoffed. "I can barely feel my fingers," 

He sighed and began unknotting the rope. The other one seemed to be eyeing him determining if he was going to do something to him before fixating on the other man. "So what're your names again?" Lance broke the silence.

This time the man now leaning on the wall scoffed. "Weren't you talking all big about knowing us back in the coffee shop?" 

"I do know you, I remember you two were always on teams together and then you stopped responding," Lance had managed to undo the first-knot but now worked on the second one. "We all just assumed you two were dead,"

"Well, we're not." He was back at staring at Lance. "We just wanted to get away from everything,"

"Everything?" 

"The galra," the blond answered. "It's horrible the way they treat each other. I have never seen a single simple soldier who has actually grown old," 

"Mortality is a weakness. Once it begins to show you won't make it," Lance got the rope completely untied now and smiled in victory "Finally! You guys never answered for your names," He reminded.

"I'm Daniel," The blond answered, clearly relieved by his now free arms. "And that's Vince," 

"Not that we get anything in return," Vince shook his head. "What about you Blue? What do you want us to call you?" 

"This is gonna sting," He warned Daniel as he pressed a small wipe on his wrist. Despite the warning, he flinched back and hissed out of his clenched teeth. "Can you hold it still on your wrists so I can untie Vince?" 

"Yeah," Daniel whispered out laying a hand over his wrist. Vince seemed hesitant to allow him near him. "Why are you helping us Blue?" 

"Please," Vince scoffed as Lance messed with the ropes around his wrists. "He's probably just screwing with us. He even avoided the question about his name,"

"My name's Lance," He said with a smile finally loosening the ropes. "And I actually do want to help you guys," 

"Alright, Lance," He somehow made his name sound like an insult. "Than why keep us here? Why did you just drag us back?"

Lance hummed under his breath uncomfortably. A few seconds passed. "Zarkon's gonna find out and when he does, trust me you'll never grow old," He undid the knots and Vince gently pulled his hands in front of himself. "If you had managed to escape you would have never lived a peaceful life. I-I just want to help you. I'm never going to be able to leave, I'm too much into this, but I know what it's like to want to leave,"

"You want to leave?" Daniel questioned, his eyebrows crinkling together. 

"Oh I would love to," Lance smiled. "But that's just some dream that's never gonna happen. Zarkon is really fond of me after all," Lance scratched his head sheepishly. "I want you guys to be able to leave though! I didn't mean for you to get so roughed up but I'll give you money and help you,"

"Help us?" Vince tried to get up but winced and fell back down. "Why would you even want to do that?"

"I already told you,"

"Then what would you gain from this?" Daniel cautioned. 

"Nothing, I promise you," Lance sighed. "You don't have to take my help but can I just fix you guys up and explain my plan to you,"

"So you already have a plan?" Daniel looked over at Vince almost hopeful but he didn't return the look. Instead, he looked cautious yet determined not to let himself be tricked. 

"And what exactly is your plan?"

Lance opened his mouth to say something but stopped midway when he heard something from downstairs. He held up a hand to stop the other two from talking and he heard the door faintly shut. He hadn't left it open which only made him much more cautious on who was inside. 

"Lance?" Keith's voice rang out and Lance cursed under his breath. "Lance, you here?"

"Who's that?" Vince questioned getting up on one leg. He looked ready to run for it but Lance placed his hands on his shoulders and sat him back down. 

"He's my friend," He answered dragging a hand through his ruffled hair. "I just-- Please don't tell him anything," 

"Aren't you gonna tie us back up?" Vince mocked but Lance only shook his head. 

"I wanna help you. Tieing you back up will only make you trust me less," He let out a shaking breath when he heard his name being called again. "Please just don't do anything," He didn't let them respond. He simply walked out and didn't lock the door behind him. 

He quickly rushed downstairs. "Lance, there you are." Keith walked over to him small smirk on his face. "Why didn't you answer me?" 

"Well, I have a little situation going on," Lance laughed awkwardly. 

"A little situation? Is that what you're calling it?" Adam appeared behind him. Lance shot him a sad look but drew his attention back at Keith. Lotor rolled his eyes from beside him and made his way next to Lance.

"I just-- have a lot to deal with Keith," Lance sighed watching his face turn in confusion. "Sorry; there's just so much going on right now after the coffee shop thing,"

"Something you don't want to tell us?" Keith didn't sound angry. He didn't sound anything. He made it seem like it was such a normal question. 

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I just don't want to get you dragged into what I'm dealing with," Lance shook his head. "Why are you even here?" 

"Hunk took me home," Keith began with a sigh. "And I noticed that Adams dog tag wasn't on the altar,"

"It wasn't?" Lance tried to sound convincing and he was usually good at lying but right now, looking at Keith like he knew something Lance didn't, made his voice pitch up.

"Jeez, I wonder what happened to it," Adam noted sarcastically. 

"No," He cleared his throat shrugging his shoulders in a much calmer way than Lance would have expected. "You were the last one to see it so I was just wondering if you had misplaced it or something," 

"I'm not sure," Lance smiled putting a hand on his shoulder and slowly beginning to lead him out. "How about this, when I deal with all of this I'll help you look for it,"

Keith stopped his small footsteps and sighed. "Lance..."

"Hey!" Lance flinched hearing the voice from upstairs. It sounded like Daniel which was surprising. If anything Lance would have thought Vince would be the one to give him up. He looked back at Keith who was staring up at nothing. 

"Who the hell was that?" Keith questioned beginning to move towards the stairs. Lance got in front of him with outstretched arms. 

"It nothing!" He laughed nervously. 

"Lance! Come here!" That definitely sounded like Vince

"It doesn't sound like nothing," Keith moved passed him and began jogging up the stairs. Lance followed after him in worry. 

"No, it's nothing you need to worry about Keith," He tried to caution. "I'll figure it out then you can be on your way,"

"But someone called your name," Keith look him up and down. He was hiding something and although he didn't know what to expect it couldn't possibly be good. 

"He's just some guy no one important," Lance rushed out, jumping in front of the door once he was in front of him. "Please, Keith,"

He would have turned back had he had more time to think about it but his curiosity got the better of him when he heard shuffling on the other end. He apparently had dogs, then a voice, and now it was apparently some guy. He pushed him out of the way before he changed his mind and swung open the door. 

"Lance finally! ...Who are you?" Keith looked between both people sitting on the floor. They were scattered with cuts and bruises dried blood covering a few. Their arms roughly covered in bandages. 

"Oh, well it seems you have a visitor," Daniel smirked. Vince laughed at that trying to get up and stumbling in the process. 

Keith acted out instinctively helping to pick him up but let him go when he winced as soon as he touched him. "Oh my God, what happened to you two?" He shouted examining the bruises on his hands and face. "Why are you even here?"

"Does he know?" Vince asked Lance as he looked Keith up and down.

"Know what?" Keith answered for him shooting a questioning glare at Lance. 

Daniel sighed. "So we'll take that as a no,"

"Please don't," Lance begged, stepping into the room more clearly.

"No point keeping it from him now," Vince crossed his arms. He sat next to Daniel again who smiled at him in response. "It just seems rather pointless," 

Lance opened his mouth ready to explain or to lie, whatever he thought of first, but instead, Daniel interrupted him. "Lance, he's helping us," 

Lance looked between Keith and his two guests trying to pick out any of their thoughts with no prevail. "Helping you how?"

"He's involved in the Galra, did he ever tell you that?" Vince questioned. 

"Involved?" Keith barked back glaring at Lance quickly. "Involved how?"

"Used to be!" Lance shook his head quickly. "I used to be involved. I already told you about that. I kinda sold drugs on the side," He was thinking fast trying to keep up with what he was saying. 

"Yeah..." Vince cleared his throat. "He left, awhile ago. Not an easy feat to accomplish considering how much he made," 

"Okay, you can be quiet now," Lance hissed out. He was relatively glad they were lying for him but Keith didn't have to know at all, to begin with. 

"No, no," Keith shook his head, stepping forward to look more closely at the bruised up pair. "Please, go on,"

Daniel looked over at Lance in caution and sighed before turning back to Keith. "He's helping us leave too," Keith crumbled his eyebrows together in confusion earning him a scoff from Vince. 

"Why do you look so surprised?" He fell against Daniel who smiled down at him now laying on his lap. "No one over there is a remote human being. They all care for themselves, leaching off each other. Stay there and we would have ended up dead in a few years," 

"So why go to Lance?" Keith barked back sharing a glance at Lance. 

Vince had now grabbed onto Daniels' hand and was examining the cuts on his wrists so Daniel cleared his throat to speak. "You don't know much about the inside world of the Galra do you?" 

"I know they kill hundreds of people each month and sell thousands of dollars worth of drugs each week," He spat out earning a flinch from Lance. 

"But the inside work," Daniel barked back "You have no idea how it sucks you in. None of us would have gotten in it if it wasn't for a very convincing argument that hides things from you,"

"Which just begs the question, why not just leave!?" Keith barked back. He could tell both Vince and Daniel were getting angry at him but before anything got too out of hand Lance answer instead. 

"Keith it's not just about leaving." He rolled his eyes instinctively. How he wished he was this ignorant about the topic. "The Galra hold you down with drug dependence and threats. Thoughts of leaving can land you bloody at the end of a gun ...You can't just leave,"

"But why go to you?" Keith said much more softly gripping onto Lance's forearm. "You- you don't have to help them,"

"It was just a coincidence that we met him," Daniel noted looking Keith up and down. "You were there too right?"

"Where?" 

"Allura's place," Lance sighed placing his face into his hands. 

"Wait, don't tell me that they..." He looked over at them momentarily. "They're the ones you scared away?!"

"I resent you saying that we were scared," 

"I mean," Lance twirled his hands around each other teasingly. "You were,"

"Why were they then?" Keith crossed his arms. "There has to be a reason why they were scared," 

"You know what, now that I think about it you guys weren't all that scared." Lance nervously laughed but when he noticed Keith face unchanged he coughed awkwardly. 

"Anyway, Lance we really need to get out of here today," Vince picked himself up on shaking legs and steadied himself before going on. "If we stay here any longer someone will find out then all three of us will be exposed,"

"You have to leave now?" Lance cringed. "You're still injured plus I need someone else,"

"I'll help you," Keith immediately volunteered. "If all three of you tell me all the crimes you've committed,"

"That's a bit personal," Lance crinkled his eyebrows in clear disapproval. 

"Why would you wanna know something like that anyway?" Daniel said agreeing with Lance's disapproval. 

"I want to know whether you're worth saving or not," Keith held no resistance. He found no need to lie. If they were bad enough to admit anything they did then they deserved to stay trapped. He didn't even care if they lied as long as they seemed to regret it. Lance was someone that he held against those rules however, instead, he wanted to know exactly what he did. 

"Keith you can't just--," 

"We'll do it," Vince interrupted. "But just us three. Lance needs to step out,"

"What?!" Lance looked at Keith waiting for him to say something but ultimately deciding to interrupt him. "No. Keith, you can't possibly agree to that," 

"Why?" Keith looked at him back stuffing his hands in his pocket. "What could they possibly say that's making you so jumpy,"

He was testing him. Lance knew he was but he felt the slight pain in his heart from the mistrust Keith showed him. "Fine, do whatever you want," Lance stomped out letting the door slam behind him as he made his way downstairs. Keith didn't really seem fazed but Daniel and Vince shared a worried look. 

"You shouldn't make him mad," Daniel warned. "If he's your friend then it's not really smart,"

Before Keith could ask him 'why', Vince broke in. "He's trying his hardest. Besides, without him, we would be dead and if you throw him off we still might turn up that way." 

"Yeah right, like Lance could ever kill someone," He rolled his eyes. Making his way towards the two and sitting down. "Now your side, what happened?"

"We were both mainly just dealing with drugs," Daniel shrugged. "Besides that we distribute it," 

"Mainly," Keith mimicked. "Did you ever have to venture far from just drug dealing?"

"No," Vince sounded stern, positioning Daniel behind him in an almost defensive way. "Who exactly are you taking us for?"

"Stop," Daniel sighed letting his head drop on Vince's shoulder. "I just want to get this over with,"

"I get that it's hard. Can you just look me in the eyes?" They both gaze up at him. His stern eyes and neutral body language made them relax yet feel like they shouldn't be feeling that. "Tell me, have you ever hurt anyone?" There was a pause. Both dropping their gaze in disappointment. Keith understood that they had before they said anything. Opening their mouths like they were going to say something but stopped when Keith lifted his hand. "If I tell you something will you tell Lance?"

"Lance?" Daniel scoffed, playing with his fingernails. "We're really not the ones with the upper hand here," 

"We won't tell him anything, besides, he's your friend," Vince shrugged trying to lean on his hand yet wincing up at the pain. Daniel crinkled his eyebrows in concern and grabbed his wrist as he reached for new bandages to wrap it more properly. "He'll believe you over us,"

Keith watched both of them tentatively. He reached the first aid kit and rummaged round it until he pulled out an anti-bacterial cream. "I'm assuming you already used alcohol on it?" Keith held the cream out towards them watching them carefully taking it. "Before you bandage it up, apply this to it. It'll help not get infected and it feels pretty cool against rope burns,"

"How do you even know we have rope burns?" Daniel began undoing his own bandages as Vince unscrewing the lid of the cream applying a little to his wounds. 

"It's not that hard to figure out," Keith chuckled. "There's rope here and your wrists are the only things visibly burned the same way," 

"What exactly did you want to tell us before?" Daniel said. 

"You truly want to leave," Keith confirmed. "A lot of people have been able to and theirs this... thing. This organization that helps people like you," 

"People like us?" 

"People who were once Galran." He tapped his fingers along the floor trying to figure out the best way to explain this. "It'll help hide you and give you enough information to avoid running into the Galra again," They were both wide-eyed listening to this tale both seemingly doubtful. 

"Yeah right," Vince shook his head. "If a place like that really existed the Galra would have destroyed them by now,"

"We're a secret organization,"

"We?" Daniel cocked an eyebrow. "You're part of them? You were once in the Galra?"

"Of course not," Vince rolled his eyes. "If he was he wouldn't be so ignorant about how to leave it," 

"My mother was," Keith confirmed. "But I'm one of their agents. I work undercover to gather his information," 

"You seem pretty clueless about Blue," Daniel and Vince looked at each other mentally arguing about something. Daniel smirking, almost on the verge of laughing while Vince, although looking about ready to laugh, shook his head in disapproval,"

"We... don't know much about him," Keith tried to compose himself from asking them why they were acting like that. "My job isn't to find out who he is," 

"Yeah, I bet," Vince fell against Daniel. "Why tell us this?" 

"I want you to have our resources," Keith crossed his arms. "Not that you really did anything to deserve it like all of us. We're called The Blade of Marmora,"

"Why not tell Lance though?" Vince tilted his head. "He is your friend, although if you knew all his secrets he would make a pretty crappy one," Daniel hit him across the head which made Keith huff out a laugh yet stare at them in shock. 

"He's been an awesome friend to me although he's cryptid sometimes." He shook his head. "That's off topic, do you want my number to get the information or not?"

"The Blade of Marmora," Vince hummed in thought. "Sounds like a cheesy video game item," 

"It sounds like a useful video game item," Daniel noted. "Shit, I'll take it but I can't promise we'll actually use it," Keith laughed a bit at that and getting up, looking around the room for a bit until finally finding a piece of paper. "Couldn't you just put their info on the paper instead?"

"Not secure," Keith shook his head. "Call me if you do decide to join and you'll be set up with a meeting with another Blade member to find out if you can actually join," As he finished writing his number he passed it over.

"So you're involved in the Galra too?" Vince stole a glance at the paper before eyeing Keith. 

"In a sense yeah I guess," Keith shrugged not really caring where this conversation was going. "Come on let's go talk to Lance. We can figure out the plan then,"

They both nodded, getting up slowly and allowing their sore limbs to draw pressure. "Lead the way," 

Keith did making sure that they were behind him as he made it to the stairs. As they began going down he heard a loud crash prompting Keith to stop before much more quickly towards the opening to the living room. From there they could all see the kitchen were lance had broken porcelain at his feet and a plate on his hand threateningly held over his head.

"I'll give it back, I promise!" Lance seemed frantic but he heard another voice and Keith saw the way he swung around. "Would you shut up!" Lance screamed at no one throwing another plate at the wall. "You're just making everything impossible." Vince and Daniel seemed unsure on what to do. They stole a glance at Keith and at themselves hoping for Lance to just magically stop. "There isn't even a point in your argument... Nope, don't you dare--" Whatever he didn't want whatever he was seeing to say they said it and Keith watched him slam his foot down as his eyes watering a bit in the process. "That wasn't my fault! You think I wanted you to die or some shit? Oh yeah, I bet you think me and your dad just sat in a room all by ourselves hoping for you to drop dead," Lance rolled his eyes throwing the plate this time and turning around quickly as if he had changed positions. As Daniel and Vince seemed unsure of their situation Keith was moving over to his bag and digging through it. "Because they're my plates! I can do whatever I want with them!" To prove his point he opened a cabinet filled with multiple more plates and grabbed three before proceeding to throw them ahead of himself. They shattered along the wall covering the floor with shards. 

"Should we do something?" Vince looked over at Keith who was no longer rummaging through his bag. He got no answer from him as he was beginning to move again. 

"You're so insufferable. At least he knows when to stop," Lance gestured beside him where no one stood. "No, but you just have to keep talking and talking like you fucking own me," he choked on his words. He felt ready to throw up but stopped when he felt something slip over his head. He whirled around reaching his hands up but stopping when his wrists were caught by the others hands. 

"Hey, calm down it's only me," Keith, still gripping onto Lance's wrists, lowered both of their hands. At that moment did he realize what was put on his head: headphones. The low music still allowed him to hear Keith but blocked it out enough where he had to read his lips. "You okay?" 

"I-I'm sorry," Lance blinked quickly trying to regain his calmness. 

"Dude, it's fine," Almost to prove his point, Keith smiled at him. "Relax, okay? I'll clean up, just relax," When he nodded Keith let go of one of his hands and used the other to walk him towards his couch. Pushing his shoulders down, Lance fell down with a sigh.

"I really didn't mean to--" He wanted to explain that it was Lotors doing but Keith only shook his head. 

"It's really okay," He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "Here, just turn it up and change the song if you want to," Lance took it giving Keith a nod. He pressed the side button to turn up the music then proceeded to click through Keith's downloads until he found a song he liked. 

"Are you sure it's alright to be here when he's like that?" Vince seemed fearful which made Keith groan. 

"Lance is just seeing things right now," He made his way to the end of the room where the broom was leaned against the wall. "Just let him calm himself down." 

"He's seeing things... How?" Daniel eyes Lance from his spot. 

"Mental disorder," Keith shrugged. "He says he sees ghosts," They both noticeably paled. Keith was unsure why they acted like this. Even if it was true, it held no real significance. He began sweeping together the piles of broken porcelain scattered on the floor but continued to address them. "Look, it's not a big deal. At least, if you think it is, don't make it one. He knows how to calm himself down and he already feels bad,"

"We'll go over the plan later then?" Vince asked looking at the ground. He was clearly trying to change the subject and Keith didn't mind that even if they stared at him awkwardly. 

"Can you two pick up this glass?" Keith sighed not answering their question and moving back next to Lance. He had his head dug into his hands to cover his eyes. Keith pulled at his sleeve making Lance look up at him. His eyes were puffy and red but he hadn't been crying so Keith just assumed it was because he was rubbing them too hard. "You still seeing things?"

"I'm always seeing things," Lance laughed pushing one headphone away from his ear. 

"I mean, yeah, but is it not as loud?" Keith questioned. 

"No, it's not," He sighed dropping his head to Keith's shoulder. "He's really annoying you know,"

"You were talking to two people. Beyond the one that I know you always talk to who was the other one?" Lance seemed uncomfortable. He groaned and doubled into himself. "A new one then? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to,"

"I'll tell you," Lance answered immediately. "Just not right now. It seems like a bad time,"

"Alright," Keith wrapped a hand around Lance's shoulder trying to comfort him in the way Shiro used to when he was sad. "It alright to feel like this, though, did you have to break all your plates?" He laughed causing Lance to chuckle along. 

"They weren't all my plates," He defended. "Just like half. Besides, it's not like I'll need them all,"

Keith hummed up at the roof very aware of the two pairs of eyes staring at both of them from the kitchen. "Why are you always dragging yourself into these things," Keith sighed out in a whisper knowing that Lance wouldn't be able to hear. "Calm yourself down and then we'll worry about your dogs as you called them,"

Lance laughed, lifting his head up a bit and dropping the headphone back over his ear. "Alright,"


	18. Panic Room

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter is Panic Room by Au/Ra.
> 
> Welp back at it again with the long chapters. Sorry if some parts seem a bit rushed then others I wrote this chapter out of order and then just pieced them together. Happy new year to anyone still out there, I'll spare you my bad new years puns this time.

Lance laid on the couch outstretched and on the verge of falling asleep. He forced his eyes open and sat up before he got the chance. He had calmed down and so had Lotor who was sitting on the floor cross-legged next to Adam. The music was low and made him even more sleepy so he slid off the headphones carefully. Keith had gone somewhere and Lance wanted to give him back his phone before he either forgot or fell asleep. He stretched his arms above his head and heard a satisfying pop. He couldn't go to sleep right now or risks could grow about Vince and Daniel telling Keith something.

Lifting himself up, he noticed Lotor looking up at him. Adam nudged him letting a small guilty look wash over Lotor. Lance's eyes widened as he began to piece together what Adam was trying to make happen. Lotor opened his mouth but just as he did Lance curled up hands against the sofa. The things that Lotor had said rushing back to him and he knew some of it was real and some of it was just a spur of the moment but it made him angry and Lotor had done it on purpose. He didn't have a right to look so sorry and the way Lance slowly began crinkling his eyebrows and tightening his fists made Lotor shrink into himself, discouraged from apologizing. He closed his mouth and sighed before opening it again. 

"Lance--" he began 

Lance would admit he was being childish when he pulled the headphones back over his ears. He saw both of them visibly sit up from surprise before turning his head and standing up. Lance wasn't going to accept his apology no matter how sincere it would have sounded. That's something Coran had taught him. Not letting others control you. Lotor did shitty things and apologized for them yet continued to do a shitty thing later. If Lance forgave him he would think his actions would be swept under the rug and Lance didn't want that, not right now. 

He made it to the kitchen where neither ghost had followed him yet he saw Vince and Daniel calmly talking on the table. He pulled off Keith's headphones just as they noticed him. "Hey..." Daniel sounded awkward and cautious. Testing the water and making sure Lance was okay with a soft and slow voice. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Lance sighed dropping himself on a chair. "I'm really tired though. Do you guys really wanna leave today? I really just wanna crash," 

"Yes, we have to leave today," Vince rolled his eyes. "Any longer and they'll be able to figure out where we're going,"

"Fair enough," Lance sighed. "Where's Keith?" 

"He's outside," Daniel moved a quick glance over there before meeting Lance's eyes again. "He cleaned up all the glass and then when you were half asleep he said he wanted some space to think," 

"Think about what?" 

"We don't know," Vince groaned in annoyance. "He just said to tell him when you wake up,"

Dropping his head against the table, Lance used his finger to draw imaginary patterns against the wood. "Did you really have to drag him into this?" 

"Technically, no," Daniel tapped his fingers against the table. "But it was the safest way to make sure we'd be fine,"

"Fine from what?" Lance sat up again. "I could have easily gotten another person if you wanted more of a probability to succeed," 

"Think of it as insurance," Vince shrugged. "Now that he knows, you can't kill us,"

"I wasn't going to kill you anyways," Lance huffed. "All you've changed is someone getting wrapped up in something that wasn't their business,"

"He seemed familiar with the Galra well enough to not care," He shrugged in return. "We know you're Blue. That's a big secret to entrust to us,"

"Who said I trust you?" Lance scoffed propping his head against his hand.

"Exactly and who's to say that you just wanna keep your secret to yourself?" 

"I'm not going to kill you," he couldn't help how his voice raised a bit. "If I wanted to I would have told Sendak to kill you as soon as he found you two,"

"We just want reassurance," Daniel shrugged. "We know you're Blue, your friend knows we're here," 

Lance could understand their fear in it but it still annoyed him that they managed to drag Keith into this. He pulled himself up and without a word made his way outside. He saw Keith on his hammock. The sun was beginning to set which let the light shine against the tree. The small light circles danced against Keith body illuminating him in a way that mystified Lance. He seemed tired too. His foot was hanging off of the hammock and he was using that one to push himself gently as he stared up into nothing but the leaves and clouds. 

Lance caught himself staring and shook his head in disapproval. He walked up and before he reached the end Keith glanced over at him. As soon as he registered it was Lance walking towards him he sat up with a smile. "You're up," He noted scooting over as an invitation for Lance to sit next to him. "You feeling better?" 

"Yeah," Lance smiled taking the invitation and letting himself drop down on the hammock pushing it back and letting themselves swing. "Something just happened with another ghost and we were arguing," 

"About what?" 

"I'll tell you later," He sighed and handed over Keith phones and headphones that were wrapped around his neck. "Thanks for calming me down. I was really about to start vomiting," 

Keith chuckled at that comment but took his things. "It was no problem. You might have spooked Vince and Daniel though,"

"Oh man..." Lance laughed. "I hope not too bad," 

"They'll be fine," A roll of his eyes made Lance smile as Keith looked up at the same thing. 

"What are you looking at?"

"The sky," Keith said without batting an eye. "It has a way of calming you down," Lance chuckled swinging them once before getting up and offering Keith a hand. 

"Come on, I want to work over the plan at least once before I forget," 

Keith took his hand with a smile and let himself up, letting Lance take the lead. He slammed his way into the kitchen making Keith laugh and Vince and Daniel jump. "Okay let's do this bullshit before I pass out!"

Daniel laughed. "We would love to hear the plan," 

Lance didn't waste time he sat down and using his phone showed them multiple pictures of an old club, not downtown but near enough for people to know it as a shady place. 

"I have a room here!" He said much too cheery. 

"Here? That's where we're gonna to leave?" Vince said taking the phone to look at it much more closely. 

"Of course not, moron," He took back his phone and pocketed it. "This is where we'll be parting ways though. The rest is up to you," 

"But why this place?" Keith wondered out loud.

"This is Galra based but, unlike most, this one has no cameras. It isn't suspicious for people to come and go out and into town through this club," Lance knew this because this is where Zarkon usually sent him to supply people. 

"So after we get here then what?" Daniel tapped his fingers against the table.

"Then you'll take a car that I have that's not under my name and drive off into fuck knows where," Lance said happily. "Before anything, though we have to sneak in through the back so theirs barely any witnesses and to get the keys from the room." 

"Can't we just hotwire the car and leave as soon as we get there?" 

"I mean sure but unless you wanna struggle to turn it on and off every time I suggest we get the keys," Lance smiled. 

"Alright seems easy enough," Keith smiled. 

"Oh right, and before you leave I'll distract everyone and you leave out through the front so people won't see you going back into my room by yourself,"

"Why not just go back to your room altogether?" Vince shook his head in confusion. 

"Becuase bringing in three guys would cause a scene and draw peoples attention towards you two," Lance sighed. "I'll distract them, Keith you make sure they make it out and as soon as you come back inside grab my wrist," 

"Your wrist?" He wondered. "Why?

"They get extremely touchy," Lance explained with hesitation. "They want something to stop them so you'll be just that. Do that as SOON as you return," He said emphasizing the word. 

"Yes sir," Keith gave a two-fingered salute. 

"So should we go?" Daniel wondered. 

Lance looked out the window, by the time they got there it would already be dark so he nodded. "Yup let's go," He said standing up. 

"Wait just like that?" Keith called after him. 

Lance grabbed a pair of keys and a jacket that was laying on the couch. "Yup, we have to get them out of here before something unexpected happens." 

It happened quickly they all gathered things together, Lance gave Daniel and Vince money, and before anyone knew it they were at the club. Lance led the way between the building and walked a couple of blocks before making it behind a plain black building. Fumbling with his keys they all followed Lance into a door where it leads them to a small room. It only had a single bed, a nightstand, and a mirror just next to the door. It almost reminded Keith of a dorm room. 

Lance moved over to the nightstand and got a new pair of keys hidden between a few magazines. "Here," He said throwing them at Keith who quickly caught them and pocketed them. "Now Keith lead them out," 

"Already?" Vince blinked. 

"Yeah, sorry this is going by so quick but we have to be quick about it. Things always end up going wrong when we take our time,"

"Well... I hope we never see each other again," He saluted him with a smile causing Lance to laugh. 

"Me neither," Lance shrugged. "But one can only pray," 

Daniel seemed much more eager to leave. Pulling on Vince he moved onto the other door across from them. "Thank you for everything Lance," 

He nodded and help onto Keith. "As soon as you go out those doors take a right and it'll lead you to the main room. Pass the curtains and you'll find a bar and if you keep going straight the exit will be right there," Lance smiled. "Got it?"

Keith nodded determinedly. "Definitely," 

He began leading them out quickly but not quick enough to draw attention. The main room was practically empty but their presence here didn't draw their attention so they just kept going not wanting to cause a scene. Passing the curtains Keith only had to scan the scene in front of him for a short moment before spotting the bar. He quickly looked back making sure Vince and Daniel were still following only to see Lance walking solemnly onto the floor with many other people. He would admit that he was momentarily distracted when Lance started dancing to the horribly loud music above with the others but Vince pulled him forward harshly. Keith shook his head to clear his thoughts and jogged out of the exit. He felt both boys run out first and quickly glancing back down he caught a glimpse of Lance being surrounded by the people. 

Daniel and Vince both ran out holding hands and Keith following after them only a moment later. They paused for a second allowing themselves to catch their breath and for Keith to fidget with his pocket trying to look for the key. 

"You guys go," He said pushing the keys into his hand. "I hope you'll contact me but if you don't, have a great life together," He smiled and Daniel gave him a short yet tight hug. Keith stiffened, unsure on how to react. 

"Thank you for everything," He said quickly opening the door but not making his way inside. Vince hesitated for a bit. He gave Keith a worried look, stepping forward he hesitated again and turned around to face him. 

"Be careful getting involved with Lance," Daniel hit Vince on the side of arm causing him to flinch and glare at him. "What? He deserves to know,"

"What are you talking about?" Keith looked at them back and forth. 

"Stop it, Vince. It's not our business," Daniel was glaring at him which caused Vince to step back. 

"Fine... but Keith be careful," he jumped into the car only to be stopped from sitting down by Keith who grabbed onto his forearm. 

"No, wait," Keith didn't know what he was doing. He looked down at the floor as his breath got heavier. Kolivans words came back to him. He had warned him about Lance back in the club now these two. "What do you mean by that? You're the second person who's told me to watch my back. Lance isn't that bad, he can't be,"

"If you find out..." Vince caught a glance at Daniel who's crinkled eyebrows made him look more scared than anything. Vince shook his head and yanked his arm back. "He's your friend, ask him yourself,"

Without another word, he hopped into the car. Daniel looked out the window for a split second and only nodded encouragingly. Keith watched the drive off. The windows were pulled off and before they hit the road he saw them give each other a quick kiss, eyes warm and hopeful until they sped off, dust covering Keith vision. He watched them leave star struck at the car that was once Lance's. 

Speaking of, he told him to find him after this. If he didn't, something bad would happen, he wondered what he meant but made his way back inside. Sneaking his way back inside, he tried to seem natural like he had been there for the whole time but he saw the way the others glared at him. He needed to find Lance so he dragged himself deeper into the spaces and tables. Last time he was near the bar so he made his way there instead only to freeze when he finally did find him

He was sitting on one of the chairs that he had called uncomfortable. An older woman sitting on his lap arms wrapped around his neck. They were kissing hungrily despite her being clearly at least in her 30's. Keith wouldn't be as uncomfortable if he couldn't see Lance's expression. He looked disgusted and ashamed. Hands were gripping onto the seat hard. 

Keith was frozen unsure on how to act until Lance opened his eyes and spotted him staring at him. He perked up seemingly hopeful for Keith to stop this but instead, he closed his eyes and turned away slightly jogging away. He didn't know why but his chest was burning and he could feel his cheeks getting hot. He was breathing much more rapidly than before but halfway to the door, he stopped himself. Why was he running? He hadn't intruded on anything that seemed warranted. If anything they should be the ones ashamed at how uncomfortable Lance was clearly getting. He turned back and jogged, much more quickly, towards Lance. He broke the crowd to see the woman still there and a man sitting next to him dragging his hand along Lance's shoulder. His eyes were shut just like before but unlike last time his eyelashes were stuck together with water. 

Keith stepped right up to them, catching their attention, before gripping onto Lance's wrist and pulling him towards him. The woman quickly caught her balance as they were both forced to their feet. Lance was taken aback by this as well and for a split second Keith saw the registration of fear in his eyes. It dropped as soon as he realized who it was and opened his mouth to say something but Keith, using his sleeve, began wiping Lance's lips of the saliva and lipstick left there. Lance pulled back presumably because it started to ache so Keith stopped. Lance didn't have much time to recover however because of the looks they were getting by the people around them. They were obviously getting suspicious and before Lance could come up with any excuse Keith pulled him close and began kissing him just as deeply as the woman. The others murmured and Lance's opened eyes began looking around in shock. Keith's eyes were closed tightly, obviously, this was a stir of the moment to clear off any tension around them. 

When they finally broke apart the others seemed unsure of what to do so Lance quickly played along gripping onto his hands and dragging him back. Through the crowd, until they were in front of the door of the room they had entered through. Lance let himself in first and Keith watched him quickly turning his head and escaping into the room. Keith followed after much more slowly and facing the door closed it gently. 

He hadn't realized he was holding his breath until the door closed and he let out a large breath. His hands were against the door making sure he heard no one following them. He realized that Lance was in here with him and turned around quickly to make sure he was okay only for his cheek to begin stinging when he was slapped across the face. It was a backhanded slap which caused it to sting worse. He stumbled to the side and gripped onto it. Looking up at Lance, Keith's angry expression shrunk down to worry watching Lance breathing much harder, red watered down eyes squinted in both fear and anger.

"How could you do that?!" He yelled at him dropping his trembling hands to his side and crumbling his fist. 

"Lance... wait," Keith stood up straighter and stepped forward only to stop when Lance stepped back quickly. "I'm sorry, I just panicked and-- I didn't mean to kiss you but everyone would think it was suspicious if--"

"You seriously think that's the reason I'm angry?" Lance scoffed. Shaking his head he dropped his head onto one of his hands successfully covering his expression. 

"Why else would you be?" Keith took another step forward again but he must have heard because he continued to step back. Lance turned around and sat down on the bed letting both his hands over his face. Keith moved over quickly ignoring the stinging on his cheek. He dropped himself to try and meet the other boy's eyes. "Lance what did I do? What's wrong?" 

A beat passed in silence before he lifted his head. He simply stared at Keith who was squatting down in front of him. Using the back of his arm he wiped his face. He didn't care about his voice so he simply whispered out "...You left me. I told you to come and get me yet you left," He let out another whimper. "Why-- How could you do that? How could you just leave me with them all alone," 

"I'm sorry," Keith blurted out hugging him to try and calm him down. "Lance I'm sorry," 

He, in turn, was pushing him off repeatedly whispering out the same "No," Keith crinkled his eyebrows and let out his own sad groan. "No, you looked me straight in the eye and still left," 

"I'm sorry," He repeated refusing to let him go and moved next to him to sit down on the bed as well. Keith was desperately gripping onto his shirt to keep him nearby. Lance looked away still trying to regain his composure. After a while, he stopped struggling but looked at the floor. "Lance, please, I'm sorry," He let him go. Lance made no move to leave but he didn't look up either. Keith gripped onto his cheeks and moved his head to look him in the eyes surprisingly Lance made no effort to stop him. His eyes were still averted but after a moment of silence, he finally met Keith's worried expression. "I'm really sorry. You looked really uncomfortable and I should have done something sooner. I- I don't know what came over me and I just panicked," 

"You promise you won't leave me again?" Lance was wiping his eyes so he didn't have to look up but he knew Keith was worried. He felt the eyes on him. 

"Last time we promised something it didn't exactly work out well," Keith's attempts to lighten the mood went unnoticed by Lance who only shook his head. 

"You have to promise me," He hiccuped. Lance swayed forward, the top of his head hitting Keith's shoulder gently and neither made an attempt to move. Keith gripped onto the sheets next to him. He didn't want Lance to get scared of him but he also needed to comfort him. 

"Okay," Keith let out quickly. "Okay, I promise," He wanted to apologize again but knew Lance wouldn't care to hear it so he bit onto his bottom lip in thought. 

Lance shook his head and rubbed against his shoulder with his hair. He gripped onto Keith's sleeves and tightened his hold as he tried to say something between the hiccups now interrupting his words. "You can't leave me," He finally lifted his head to look up at him and Keith's eyes rounded unsure of how to register the look of anguish he was now facing. "I was really scared when you left..." 

"Lance, what did they do to you?" Keith used one of his hands to push his head onto his shoulder and pet his hair and while the other wrapped around him and dragged along his back in comfort. Lance didn't do anything except wrap his own hands around Keiths back and dug his head into his shoulder. "It's okay. It's okay. I promise, okay? I promise," 

"You can't leave me all alone like that," He shook his head. "Not here okay? Not after a situation like that,"

"I won't," He dropped his chin on top of the darker skinned boys head. "Promise me, Lance, if you ever feel like this again you'll call me... or Pidge and Hunk," He quickly added. 

Lance nodded sniffling to try and calm down. Keith wouldn't get it even if he explained it. This room was uncomfortable, it brought back memories, the same memories that women had brought up. They dug in the front of his skull and made his head throb. He knew he shouldn't have gotten mad at Keith because he had no idea this would happen but he also knew right now he had to worry about calming himself down. It wasn't like him to let past traumas dictate his mood if he did then every little thing could potentially make him break down, the sudden fear that was caused by Keith made his memories take over, however. His flight or fight reflexes would have dragged him out of that place had Keith not came back. 

He wanted to sleep. The tiredness had overtaken him to the point where he closed his eyes. He could hear someone behind him that wasn't Keith. It might have been Lotor but he didn't really care he just let himself even out his breath. He was beginning to relax, shaking shoulders now only jumped up when he had sniffles or hiccups. His warm breath making him relax yet caused his hair to stick to his forehead. It was actually pretty calming and before long he let his shoulders slouch in an effort to relax. 

Keith had forgotten that Lance was even laying on him. He was on autopilot still petting him yet looking up at the ceiling in thought. The warnings that Thace and now Vince had given him run amok in his brain. Why were they so cautious of him? Maybe even scared, he knew Vince and Daniel were. Yet Lance was here crying because of the anxiety that had managed to creep up on them. Hunk and Pidge would probably know something about this. If he asked them though they might get defensive and that wasn't something he wanted to do. Lance was far from someone that seemed dangerous but if that was true then how was he wrapped up in the Galra. Despite constantly denying it Keith was almost certain that he was still involved with them. He wasn't going to confront him, however, not until he had proof of it. 

He blinked realizing he had zoned out. A small wave of guilt washed over him not only about the doubtful thoughts but about ignoring Lance right now. He looked down at him and slightly let him go only for Lance to slouch down. He moved over gently to stare at his face only to find Lance's eyes closed and breathing much deeper. He was asleep so with a sigh he tried to, as gently as possible, lay down so that he could gently drop him to the bed. Lance stirred, moving to lay on his side and Keith stayed completely still until Lance finally relaxed against the pillow. 

He sighed watching Lance's puffy red eyes and slightly wet cheeks. Brushing the hair from his forehead he realized how hot he was. The sweat-drenched face would make his hair rather itchy. He gently took off Lance's jacket in an attempt to cool him off. He felt uncomfortable undressing him any further however so he simply sighed as he laid it next to him. Before he dropped it however he noticed a bulge in the pocket. He assumed it was his phone or key and in a sense he was right but there was something else outlined against it. He let his curiosity get the better of him and dug his hand into the rather large pocket. He pulled out what he had predicted with the added bonus of a box of cigarettes. It was crushed and mishandles, opening it Keith only found two inside. Taped on the back of the box was a few matches. They seemed mishandled and stained but Keith didn't really notice it. He didn't really think Lance would mind so he took one cigarette out and using one of the matches, quickly popping it in his mouth and took a short drag of it. 

He wasn't as used to it as he used to be and so he let out a quick cough. Back when Keith was younger he used to love going to clubs and messing around. Usually, it was with older men, a spur of the moment deal. He regretted how he spent his days and looking back made him slightly cringe at his actions but those actions relaxed him especially when Shiro had first been put into the hospital. Bars weren't really an option back then so instead after every "night out" as he called it, even if the man was still laying in bed next to him, he would light a cigarette. Sometimes he wouldn't even smoke it but just let the ash hit the floor. Now however he didn't know why he was doing it. Maybe as a form of therapy to calm him down. Lance had thought of his past so maybe this was his form of doing the same. He fell back against the bed taking a quick drag of it and holding the smoke in his mouth for a while before blowing it out. He had been forced to quit only a little over a year ago when he had to spend his money more responsibly. The taste was still as horrible as it used to be but he only scrunched up his nose in disapproval. Looking back and doing it now he was both confused and yet understanding on why he would do it. Maybe that was the same reason Lance did it. 

He didn't finish it though instead opting to get up from the bed and drop it outside. He stepped on it to make sure that it didn't start a fire and returned back into the bed. He could hear the people still ruffling from outside his room. He was getting bored and anxious just staying here. Digging through his own pockets he pulled out his wallet. He had more free time than usual and because of that, he worked a lot more than he normally did which brought along some spending money of his own. He thought that perhaps he should save it but dragging a hand over his hair he felt the sweat rise from that as well. He was probably overstressing. Taking a quick look in the mirror he could tell his body was exhausted. The way his eyes dropped and his mouth was slightly open to catch a breath. His hair, just like Lance's, was stuck to his forehead and yet despite how cold it was outside his face was a bright red. 

The jacket he had brought didn't have a hood much to his dismay. He couldn't hide his face if he stepped out. Looking around quickly his eyes landed on Lance's jacket. It was a worn-out green and white jacket with only an orange cuff wrapped around the top of the sleeves. It was big on Lance so it was obviously gonna be big on him but he underestimated to what extent. He pulled on the hood nonetheless and it dangled slightly over his eyes. Pulling out enough money beforehand he set his wallet on the bed and made his way out. 

Careful not to slam the door, he followed the voices to make sure he was going the right way. He felt eyes on him yet paid them no mind considering he couldn't see them very well. He made it to the bar noticing the absence of the girl or any of the people that had sat there prior. Lifting his head up he met eyes with the bartender. "Anything you want?" He sounded disinterested. 

Keith scanned the bottles behind him and point to one. "That's liquor right?" His dad used to always drink liquor and Shiro had small bottles of it that he occasionally used to sneak sips of but right now he didn't know why he wanted some, he just knew he wanted something to get him just a bit tipsy. 

"Yes, indeed," the bartender reached back taking a hold of the bottle with both of his hands. "Is that what you want?"

"No," Keith quickly shook his head. "I want the whole bottle to take back to the room," 

"What?" The bartender chuckled under his breath. 

"Look just sell it to me," Keith sighed letting the hood fall more over his eyes as he dropped his money on the counter. "Here keep the change," He snatched the bottle from him and began making his way back with the bottle in hand but just as he turned around he crashed into someone else. 

It was a man only a few years older then him he presumed solely by his looks. Keith looked him up and down. He was looking at him threateningly and he was sure if they were alone Keith would be able to take him but he had four friends behind him so he sunk his impulsive nature down to not cause a ruckus. "Well, aren't you Lance's little-chosen guest?"

Keith crumbled his fist and growled a bit under his breath. He was only a couple inches taller than him yet he acted much more superior. Keith knew continuing to talk to him would make him act irrationally so he moved to the side quickly trying to leave. A hand was placed on his chest to block him, however. 

"Now, now, why are you trying to leave?" he chuckled. "Don't tell me you're scared," Keith kept quiet only glaring at him. "Jeez, if looks could kill," The man looked up at the ceiling in thought. "So you got him for the night today," He seemed absentminded but Keith listened carefully resulting in that statement making his scowl deepen. "What? already gonna drink your feeling away?" They laughed causing Keith to tighten his hold on the bottle. 

"For the night?" He repeated back at him "What are you talking about?"

"Oh don't act so dumb," The man grabbed the jacket and moved one hand up and down. He got closer to his face than necessary. "You even have his jacket on...Red face... All sweaty."

"Shut up," He growled but he felt the way his breath was growing more uneven. His hands were shaking and the hood couldn't hide his eyes any longer from the smirk the older man gave him. 

"Come on, why are you getting so mad? Why else do you think everyone was surrounding him like that?" The man placed a hand on his cheek. "You really don't know him. Are you a new upcoming Galra or something? You do look pretty young... Did mommy and daddy not like taking care of you anymore?" 

Keith snapped not at any comment in particular but just at the constant bombardment of comments. He swung his hand up slamming the liquor bottle against the man's head. The bottle was made of thick glass so despite that hit it didn't break and Keith was quick to take advantage of that by swinging it at another man now charging at him. 

"Don't you dare fucking talk about us like that!" Keith yelled. The man was holding onto his now bleeding side and was about ready to get up until Keith jumped back on him and sat on his chest. He began punching him over and over, he only defended himself with his arms while cursing under his breath.

"Get him off of me morons! Get him off!" He pushed him momentarily making him lose his balance and a man grabbed him by his underarms, pulled him off onto his feet and struggling to be free. 

"Let me go assholes!" They tightened their hold on him causing Keith to moan in discomfort. He kicked his leg back as hard as he could successfully hitting the man holding him. He got a punch in the face from a completely different person though so he only slouched his head in pain still clutching his fists as tightly as he could. He could hear the bartender yelling something from behind him but no one paid him any mind. 

"So you think just because Lance chose you you're suddenly hot shit?" The dripping blood from the man's face was smeared back against his cheek and now with a busted lip, he looked on the verge of insanity. Keith closed his eyes quickly as he saw the man going to punch him. His fist made contact with his cheekbone throwing his head to the right with the force. "Well, we sure as hell aren't scared of you," Another punch making contact just above his eye throwing his head in the opposite direction. 

"All young Galra's think they're such hot shit until they mess with someone," Another one, a girl just about the same age as the other man stepped around him. She punched him on his chin this time scrapping his lip with a ring. He felt the warm blood drip down from it causing him to spit to the side letting the blood pool on the floor. "Why are you looking at us like that? Like you have the upper hand?" The man stepped forward again and uppercutted him successfully making Keith's teeth shutter together but he didn't have time to recover before he was kicked just below his ribs. He let out a quick gasp heaving over in an attempt to stop the pain. 

"Done already?" They smiled and noticeably let their guards down. Chuckling amongst themselves they noticed Keith's slouched over form. "What, suddenly you don't have anything to say?" 

"Fuck you," He whispered and before they could recover from shock Keith shot out his leg and kicked the man in front of him. pushing them back he used his head to slam back straight at the man that was just holding him. He felt it make contact with the guy's nose and finally released him to grip onto his nose instead. "Why should I waste my voice on ignorant fucking pricks like you!" He moved back kicking them all together and jumping on top of the bar. 

He jumped back as soon as the first man charged at him again. The bartender was gone at that point, maybe he was in the back but he seemed determined to stay out of it. Keith was quick to grab another bottle and turned around lifting his hands to hit him again but he stopped when he noticed what had happened. Standing outside the bar was Lance. He had managed to not only sneak up on them but he was holding a now broken stool over his head. The man dropped to the floor banging onto the bar and Lance noticed the blood that followed him. 

Lance was breathing heavily. He smashed the stool against the bar letting one leg of it crack and break into a sharp point. He pointed it threateningly at the main man who started this. "Back off,"

"Wow, it seems your one night stand woke up," He laughed at Keith. He, in turn, jumped over the bar angrily but Lance placed a hand over his chest and pushed him down. 

"Shut up," Lance growled at the man ignoring the protesting Keith. "I'm not just some fucking toy asshole,"

"Then why come here all by yourself?" He giggled cruelty. 

Lance sighed dragging a hand through his hair playfully. "Look I get I'm hot as fuck but that's no reason to fight over me," He smiled. 

"Yeah right, you really think that's why we're like this?" He spat out blood to the side. "For you?"

"I know my worth," Lance said confidently. "Just because you're suddenly self-conscious of yours doesn't mean you were right,"

"Yeah right you're just hiding behind--"

"Finish that statement and I'll personally beat your ass," Lance growled tensing up once more. 

The man scoffed but he saw how serious Lance was. He began turning to drag along the girl next to him. "Let's go," 

Both Lance and Keith were panting hard trying to figure out what to do. When Lance knew for sure they weren't going to come back he dropped to his knees and turned to look at Keith. Dropping the wood that was once a stool, he placed his hands on his cheeks moving him from side to side and checking the various cutes. "Keith, are you alright? You okay? What did they do to you? Does it hurt?"

Keith chuckled at the bombarding of questions, placing his hands over Lances he smiled at him. "Hey, I'm fine. I'm okay," 

He smiled at the confirmation letting out a quick sigh of relief before facing Keith with an angry expression. "Then, what-the-fuck-where-you-think-ing?" He spoke the syllables sharply hitting Keith on the side of the head and on his back with each new one. "Stupid!"

"Ow Lance," He pulled his hands back. "I was just trying to get a little tipsy and they stopped me. Not my fault," Keith said matter of factly slightly tipping up the new bottle he had grabbed. 

"You fucking stained my jacket!" Lance huffed out. 

"Is that what you're worried about?" Keith laughed

"It's your own damn fault," He crossed his arms. "Why the hell would you fight that many?" 

Keith shrugged "Talk shit, get hit," Lance dropped his face into his hands. 

"...You're so stupid," Despite his buried face, Keith watched his shoulders. bounce up and down as he chuckled under his breath. When he finally lifted his head Lance was ready to continue scolding Keith but stopped when he noticed Keith looking at him with a smile. "...Let's go home," Keith nudged his head to the side and Lance quickly got up holding out his hand for Keith to take. Cheeks turning a light shade of pink he covered it with his hands. "I mean my house! I doubt you want to go to the hospital and I can easily just patch you up!"

Keith took his arm and picked himself up with a faint smile. "Alright but you're driving," 

"Hell yeah I am, you look on the verge of passing out," He smiled wrapping a hand around his shoulder and beginning to leave out of the main exit. 

"Fine then take me home," Keith chuckled. "I don't wanna be alone right now anyway," Lance looked down at him with surprise but softened when he noticed Keiths noticeably red cheeks. He smiled looking forward and squeezing Keith's shoulder a bit tighter. 

"Yeah...me neither,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh ho ho, Keith's beginning to doubt yet like Lance more and more! This is totally not gonna blow up in their faces! *Laughs nervously* Welp hope you enjoyed this chapter! Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	19. The Good Part

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theme for this chapter: The Good Part by AJR
> 
> OOF this is a long as chapter but I love it hope you do too! It's mostly fluff except the end so let's actually enjoy it while it lasts.

Keith was sitting cross-legged in the room where he had first met Vince and Daniel. The first aid kit was rummaged and unorganized as he looked in the mirror and tried to clean his face. Lance had gone downstairs to get a bowl of warm water and so Keith made do with what he had. Tying up his hair so the blood no longer stuck it together, he began examining the various injuries he had received. Lifting up his shirt slowly, he winced whenever his hand accidentally dragged along it but was more than anything irritated at the now big purple bruise along his stomach. 

This brought back memories that made him chuckle. Shiro used to always scold him for hours when he turned up at the house like this. He used to sit him on the bed and force him to say who it was and what had happened. At the moment Keith hated that but now with Shiro not able to do it, he felt almost empty. He wanted someone to scold him and that made him chuckle. The sun shone through the window and hit his face making him squint and making him realize that tears had begun welling up. The sun causing him to close his eyes enough to force them to run down his cheek.

"What's wrong?" Keith turned around quickly wiping his face with the back of his hand and revealing Lance moving closer to him. "Does it still hurt?"

He reached out only for Keith to push his hand away and stare at the mirror. "I'm fine," He sighed. "...just thinking about stuff,"

"Then stop thinking," Lance hit his shoulder playfully causing Keith to chuckle a bit. "Anyway, I called Pidge and Hunk. They're bringing food. I heard your belly grumble earlier. Why didn't you tell me you were hungry?"

"Because I'm not," Keith turned his head. "My body's just needy,"

"That's called being hungry, moron," Lance hit him on the back of the head, looking at him with an expressionless face. "When's the last time you ate?" A small beat of nothing passed by where both of them where just staring at each other until Lance lifted his hand. "I will not hesitate to hit you again just because you're injured," Keith mumbled something under his breath. Too quick and too low for Lance to understand. "What'd you say?" 

Keith sighed. "A couple days," Lance was about to yell. He could tell with the way his nose crinkled up and eyebrows drew together. Keith held both his hands up before he could. "Calm down, it's not like I just stopped eating. I just haven't had an actual meal in like 3 or 2 days,"

"Then what are you eating?" He suppressed his natural response of trying to scold him and he knew Keith noticed because of the small smile that tugged at the corner of his lips. 

"You know like yogurts, fruits, little things like that. I usually eat when I visit Shiro and just get like chips and those complimentary drinks they hand out,"

"I hate your stupid thoughts sometimes," Lance sighed not letting himself get angry. "If you ever skip a meal or can't get one just come over here, man. Lord knows you can take my entire fridge if you want," He smiled trying to show Keith he wasn't going to get angry but it seemed to disappoint him. 

"Thanks, Lance," He returned the smile. Falling back against the floor he draped his hand over his eyes. 

"You still don't seem happy," Lance sighed sitting next to Keith. He only shook his head. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just tired," Keith uncovered his eyes to stare at the ceiling. "I woke you up, aren't you tired?" 

"I guess," Lance sighed dropping his body to lay next to Keith close enough where Keith should have felt uncomfortable but instead he felt calmer. "I'm emotionally exhausted more then I was just tired,"

Keith let out a hurt sigh. "I'm sorry about leaving you again,"

Lance chuckled. "It's fine, it's fine," He said moving to lay on his stomach. Crossing his arms in front of him he made a comfortable pillow with his arms to gently lay his chin. "It wasn't like I was mad at you. I was just scared, you know." He buried his face in his arms trying to hide his expression.

Keith didn't turn fast enough so he had missed it but he knew something was wrong so he laid down on his stomach right next to Keith. "Let's go to sleep until Pidge and Hunk arrive okay? Take our minds off of things," Lance moved his head out of the crevices his arms made and instead opted to lay it down on his own cheek. He was facing Keith who only had one hand outstretched and he laid on his bicep while the other arm was tucked under his neck comfortably.

"Yeah okay," He whispered back. They both closed their eyes at that confirmation and a warm and comfortable feeling wrapped around both of them. 

Hearing each other's breath and feeling the warmth the other gave out was almost exhilarating. It felt familiar. Keith cracked an eye open to look at Lance with a fond expression. He noticed his tan skin and slight freckles that bled into his cheeks. He had rather long eyelashes but they seemed underwhelming compared to the dark circles under his eyes. Those seemed to be the only flaw naturally on his face but he noticed slightly hidden scars that were faded back and a couple bruises littering just below his neck, hidden by his shirt. Keith blushed back, what was he doing? Staring at someone while they were practically asleep. He wasn't a grade schooler but he found himself unable to tear his eyes away. 

His thoughts began focusing on the warning he had gotten, however. Everyone seemed cautious of him. At both of those clubs, they all seemed like they needed to please him. Lance was someone everyone knew and low tier Galra held him on a high pedestal to some extent. Keith was trying to piece together whether it was because he was rich that he was treated that way or being treated that way was what made him rich. If it was the latter, then it just raised the question over why he treated this way in the first place.

Lance fluttered his eyes opened when he felt his stares on him. They both blushed and turned away in embarrassment. "What are you doing?" Lance said louder then he wanted to. 

"Sorry!" Keith replied just as loudly but it was muffled by his hands. "I was just thinking about you," His eyes widened and catching a quick glance to Lance he noticed how big his eyes were too. He ducked down and buried his face into his hands. "I'm sorry! That sounded a lot weirder when I said it out loud!" Despite the useless explanation Keith was trying to give, he noticed how red Lance's ears had gotten. "Lance?" Keith shook his shoulder. "Come on, I really--" He felt if he said 'didn't mean to' it would sound rude and fake. Lance had already perked up and was staring at him with a single questioning eye at the unfinished sentence. "I really wasn't doing anything weird," 

His face was still red but he smiled and unburied his hands to lay on his cheek. The light from the extremely high window shot down and illuminated Lance's hair momentarily blinding Keith with nothing but amazement. "Then were you thinking about me?"

"Yeah," Keith admitted. He coughed at his own misplaced confidence and looked at the floor before going on. "You're really weird,"

"Gee, thanks." Lance laughed under his breath moving his eyes away from Keith which gave Keith the confidence to look back at him. 

"You're just so mysterious. I was just now beginning to realize I know nothing about you yet you're one of my closest friends even though we've only known each other for a bit," Keith laughed. He suddenly felt nervous. He didn't know why it happened but this almost felt like a confession. He pulled his hair back behind his ear. A nervous habit he had. Lance turned to look at him so he whispered out, "I know nothing about you,"

Keiths much paler skin made the red creeping along his neck and cheeks much more noticeable to Lance. "What do you want to know?" Lance whispered back. 

"Everything," Keith sighed in defeat. "But I want to figure it out myself," Lance smiled at him fondly.

"Good luck," He reached out his hand and Keith flinched gently back. Lance hesitated momentarily dropping his hand to lay in between them. "Does your face still hurt?"

Keith stared at the hand next to his face apologetically. "I'm fine," He lifted his own hand to caress his bruised cheek. Pulling it back, he noticed the speckled red now smeared across his fingers. "Am I bleeding?" 

Lance hoisted himself up with his arms inspecting Keith's face much longer than necessary once he brought himself up too. "Yeah, a bit," He moved back and grabbed a small spray and wipe. Keith followed Lance and sat up moving closer to him. "Close your eyes,"

He did as he was told and felt the small stinging that arose as Lance sprayed him with a disinfecting spray. "What color bandage do you want?" Lance seemed to beam at the question making Keith chuckle. He dumped them all on the ground to get a better look. Looking over all the bandages he noticed patterns and characters plastered about them.

"You wouldn't happen to have like a normal one right?" He let out an offended gasp, making Keith retract his question. "Okay okay, I'll just take that as a no,"

"You're so boring, Keithy boy!" Lance dug through them and held them up to the light to see which design they had more clearly. "Look! This one has little strawberries on them!"

"I rather not get something like that," Keith admitted sheepishly. 

"Nope, you've revoked your choice to chose." Lance swept them all to himself. "This one!" He opened it not waiting for Keith to complain and stick it to his cheek where the ring had caught his skin. 

"What is it?" He wondered placing a hand over it. 

"It has a cute little cat face on it!" Lance smiled. "It's lilac though,"

Keith chuckled a bit under his breath as Lance searched for another one. "Now this one's more you," he said opening it and this time showing it to Keith who only facepalmed. It was just a simple rainbow colored bandage that was already being placed on his cheek. 

"Thanks, Lance,"

He didn't seem to expect that. Pausing for a moment he tilted his head before huffing out a laugh. "You're welcome," He pulled his hand close to his face feeling the bandaids loose hold. Lance began randomly picking out different bandages to place over his bruised and cut knuckles. 

A few moments later they heard the door open downstairs followed by Pidge yelling out, "We're here dorks! We went to like five different places for food,"

Lance immediately got up. Holding onto Keith's hand still, he dragged him up on his feet and rushed down the stairs in the living room. Stopping when he saw Hunk and Pidge sitting down on the couch setting up the food. "What did you get me!" He said quickly looking over the various take out bags. 

"Well you can have the first pick," Hunk smiled at him. 

"Hunk, I swear you're a saint," He said quickly hugging him. "How much was it?" 

"Nope, I paid," He shook his head. "You don't have to waste your money," 

"What, no way Hunk," Lance said already looked through his pockets for some. "I asked you to bring it; let me pay," 

"It's fast food," Pidge butted in with a chuckle. "It's not like we can't afford it," 

"Nope!" He said much more loudly. Ultimately, failing to find his money in his pants, he sighed. "Keith, where did you leave my jacket?" 

"I don't know," He said picking at the fries inside a brown bag. It was uncomfortable to slouch down so he simply picked up the back and began eating them. "I think the kitchen table," He yelled at Lance still looking around the living room. Keith supported himself on the arm of the couch as he slowly sat down. The pain on his chest and stomach made it harder but with a groan, he managed to sit down and let that pain fade. As he started to eat the fries again his attention turned to Hunk and Pidge who were staring at him. "What?"

"What happened to your face?!" Hunk said gripping onto his cheeks before Pidge chuckling a bit under her breath. 

"And what's up with the band-aids?" 

"I picked them out myself," Lance said leaning over the back of the couch. "Aren't they cute?" Lance said in a baby voice to tease him even more. 

"Shut up," Keith said over a mouthful of fries only for Lance to quickly reach in and grab a couple for himself. "Hey, I call this bag!" 

"What, no way I want fries!" Lance said stealing more as Keith moved his body away.

"Then go buy some," Keith argued back not allowing Lance to get any closer. 

As the two bickered and fought over the food Hunk and Pidge watched it unravel. They flickered their eyes between themselves and the two in front of them. Watching this for only a few seconds before they noticed. "What?" Lance asked.

"So are you guys not gonna fill us in on what happened or...?" Hunk twirled his hands around each other. 

"Oh yeah sorry," Lance said quickly trying to grip to the bag again and only sighing in defeat as Keith pulled it back. "He got his ass beat," 

"Um, excuse you it was clearly not a fair fight," Keith went to defend himself. "And I had it under control beside it was yesterday," 

"Yeah right." He scoffed looking through the other bags and picking one. 

"A fight? You haven't gotten in one for a while?" Pidge smiled as she picked up her own food. "What happened this time?"

Lance sat on the floor in front of where Keith was sitting. He looked down at him trying to communicate whether he should tell them the whole truth. "It was just a good old fashion bar fight," Lance explained for him. 

They explained it as best they could. Leaving out Daniel and Vince in the process. They improvised a small story of somebody saying something about them and Keith just overreacted. Pidge scolded him for not only trying to get alcohol but for getting in the fight in the first place but the small story they made up made Lance remembered why he had done it, to begin with. He needed to call Zarkon to check in. Not only that but he needed to figure out this situation with Shiro. He needed to call Allura to make sure she was up for what he was planning to do anyway. He let an entire day pass and he had no idea what was going to happen. Lifting himself up he set his bag down on the table as his friends were flicking through the movies. 

"I've just remembered that I need to check in with Allura," Lance smiled before they had a chance to ask. "I'll be back down in a bit but I just need to make a quick call, okay?" 

"Yeah buddy, go for it." Hunk smiled. "But we're choosing the movie without your consent,"

"That's fine," He giggled. "Do you need something from upstairs while I'm up there Keith?" 

"No, I'm fine here," He smiled up at him continuing to eat. 

"If you don't get back soon though we will start eating your food," Pidge smirked. 

Lance let out a quick offended gasp. "I feel so threatened," He made his way upstairs slowly until he began lightly jogging up the stairs.

"Hurry Lance," That was Adam's voice but he didn't see him so he simply shook his head. He crashed down in a small office he barely used and quickly locked it. Pulling out his phone he first dialed Zarkon. It rung only twice before being picked up.

"Hello~," He said in the sing-song voice he always used over the phone. He heard a scream on the other end. Holding his phone a bit further from his ear he waited a moment for it to muffle. "Busy?" 

"Not particularly," Zarkons gruff voice rang through the phone. "I was curious when you would contact me after the face reveal of yours," 

"So sharp," Lance smiled glad he didn't have to have this conversation face to face. He wasn't surprised Zarkon knew about it already but he was a bit annoyed. "I'm assuming Sendak told you?" He sat down on a swivel chair he had and began spinning it with his foot. 

"Yes, he seemed angry with you," There was muffling on his end. Lance knew he was doing something else but didn't question it. 

"Yeah I made him do something and he was acting childishly," He smiled stopping himself from spinning for a second. "I didn't want to disrupt you with news that was unnecessary until it was taken care of."

"So how did you take care of it?" Zarkon spoke over the phone and behind him, Lance heard other voices that went ignored. 

"Rigged car," Lance explain spinning around once more to ease his tension. "Although the Lotus club that so many new recruits go to was where we met up,"

"Very well," He sounded uninterested. He would believe Lance blindly when it came to trivial things like this. "Is that all you called me for?" 

"It's the main reason but I also wanted to ask if my future missions for this week could be postponed,"

"Until when exactly?" HIs gruff voice suddenly sounded annoyed. Lance shivered.

"Just until next week," He explained quickly. "I just need these four days to gather up and take care of some personal issues," Lance was scared for a second that he would ask what those problems were but was relieved when Zarkon only sighed in annoyance. 

"Very well but the moment you get out you must take care of a new alliance forming on the farther east side of the city. I've held it out for a while but it seems they are planning an attack,"

"First thing I get back, I'll take care of it," With that confirmation, Zarkon hung up. Lance hadn't expected a goodbye nor did he want one so he was glad he finally got to hang up.

He moved all the way to the top of his contacts where he found Allura's name with various emojis around it. It only rung for a few times before she picked up with a chipper, "Lance! How are you?" 

"I'm great!" His smile returned when he heard her. "You're at work right? Sorry for interrupting you,"

"No, it's quite alright. With Romelle added it's a lot easier to manage," She paused for a second. "And why did you call? If it's something dealing with Galra you usually ten to just come over." 

"Yeah, well it really has nothing to do with me,"

"It's the Black Paladin correct?"

"What? How'd you know?" Lance sat up and looked around anxiously as if Allura would be able to see but he dropped the demeanor when he heard her laugh from the end of the phone. 

"You're not the only psychic Lance." She seemed to hesitate. "Lotor's been here most of the day bothering me until I finally talked to him,"

That explained why Lotor wasn't here this entire day but it still was odd for him to go beyond his house. "Why? Did he tell you everything?"

"Sort of..." Allura smiled and Lance heard the warmness in her voice. "Lance, I get that you're trying to wake him up but we can't just enter the astral plane for one single person. It's too dangerous,"

"That's why I wanted to ask you," He sighed. "Shiro he's helped a lot of people. I wouldn't do this for just anyone. Not only that but he's the black paladin and I'm sure he'd help us even more. Keith told me about this a while back but I just never took it seriously and now I can't help feeling like this was my fault,"

"Haggar," Allura said quickly. "It was her fault. You did nothing wrong, Lance." She thought for a bit letting Lance sink in the silence. "If you're serious about this then I'll help you," Lance quickly smiled sitting up instinctively and clapping his hands. 

"Thank you, Allura! Thank you so much!" He heard her laugh through the phone. "I promise you won't get hurt okay? I just need another psychic with me,"

"Of course Lance but you have to promise me that this isn't putting you in harm's way. Once this is over you'll be fine right?" 

"Yeah of course," Lance hesitated taking it any further. "I'll just be down for a few days that's it. I already took care of it with Zarkon so I wouldn't get in trouble,"

"I'm trusting you," Allura sighed. "Get a remembrance that would give us access into his mind and send me the address. Don't forget to not be reckless, try to involve someone close to him; it'll be easier to find him that way. I'll meet you over there whenever you want," 

Lance couldn't help smiling so much. A wide, goofy one that would have embarrassed him had anyone else been around. "I will. Thank you again, Princess! I love you!" She chuckled quickly returning the compliment and hanging up the phone.

Lance raised his hands in victory. With Allura agreeing he would be able to do this with not so much backlash on his body. He would be able to save Shiro without taking his place gladly. He wished Adam was here of he would have screamed out his plan to him but looking around he sighed in disappointment. He still had to find someone close to Shiro, though. Adam wouldn't do considering he was dead but he would help if he couldn't find someone else. Keith was an option too but he was scared to tell him. 

He shook away the though and began scrolling through his contacts. He still needed to make one more call to a hacker he knew. Not nearly as good as Pidge but well enough where he didn't ask questions. Zarkon favored him when doing heists so this was outside his norm but Lance knew he wouldn't refuse.

"Hello, well if it isn't my second favorite client," His voice sounded over the phone. His voice was deep and Lance had met him on multiple occasions but he wasn't anyone that was confidential enough where his phone number needed to be memorized. 

"Don't tell me I'm saved on your phone," He sighed. 

"Of course not Blue," He sounded offended. "I've memorized your number already. What can I help you with today?"

"I just need you to transfer one patient to a secluded room in the Olkari hospital," 

"Olkari?" He hummed through the phone. "They have a very tight base down there,"

"Can you do it or not?" Lance sighed in annoyance. 

"Of course, I'll have to move others around too if you want it discreet," He went on. "It'll cause the hospital to be in a bit of a raffle for a few days but it shouldn't cause harm to patients. Unless of course, that's what you want,"

"No, I simply need one patient secluded and transferred out of the watch of the doctors," Lance spun in his chair. "Look at maps from the hospital and find the best one for this job,"

"And what exactly is your patient's name?" He heard the clicking of a keyboard almost as if he was already getting to work. 

"I don't know his full name," Lance admitted. "He's currently on the 3rd floor in room 345," A small pause followed until the man whistled. 

"Takashi Shirogane," He read. "His file is rather long. He's been there more than once. Currently in a coma with infiltrations towards the Galra, correct?"

"Yes, that's right." Lance knew he wouldn't ask any questions no matter how curious he got and he envied that in the moment. He probably thought Blue was just on another take out mission. 

"Easy enough, I found a room with a lock, that's secluded enough to have all the materials you need but of course, we have to arrange--" 

"Name your price," Lance interrupted. He didn't have time for this. he couldn't leave Shiro in just his shared room though. That would bring him down. He chatted with this man for a few minutes before they came with a compromise. A lot more then Lance was willing to pay but something he'd figure out later. 

"Although the maps and database where easy enough the rest will take a bit more time. I'll have it arranged by tonight though," He hummed a bit. "When would you like him transferred?" 

"By tomorrow. Text me when it's done and erase this number," "You got it Blue," he seemed absent-minded. "Oh and one last thing, keep this between us," Just like he did with all Galra associates, he hung up without saying bye. 

"You seem tired," Lance wiped around to see Adam floating overhead him. "What's wrong?"

"I think I might have figured out this situation with Shiro," 

Adam took a moment to process it before smiling widely. "He's gonna wake up?!" Lance gave a chuckle and nodded. "Really? I-I'll be able to talk to him? You'll help me talk to him, won't you?"

"Of course Adam," Lance said quietly smiling at Adams enthusiasm. 

"You still seem dishearted," He softened moving closer to Lance. "What's the matter?" 

Lance pulled out the dog tag from his back pocket. "You said I could use this right," Adam nodded cautiously. "The thing is, this alone will be a big help but it's still just a material thing. Not many people put a lot of their will into them. Someone he knew, someone he was close to plus this dog tag would practically guarantee that he wakes up before the curse completely take over his body,"

Adam was silent for a bit. "He always kind of kept to himself. The only person who was ever really close to him was me and Keith,"

"No," Lance shook his head. "I shouldn't ask Keith,"

"But if that guarantees his safety I'm sure Keith would agree," Adam argued. 

"He doesn't believe me," Lance sighed into his hand. "He'll just get angry," 

"Lance, this all seems a bit idiotic wouldn't you say?" Lance and Adam both turned once more to see Lotor standing there. "Just drop the formalities. You're risking yourself for this man, he should at least help that's it's not a waste," 

"Lotor it's not that simple," Lance got up. "He thinks really highly of him, he wouldn't just believe me. He'll think I'm giving him false hope," 

"I don't think so," Adam smiled. "I don't agree completely with Lotors assumption but I do think that he'll believe you if you do it sooner then later,"

"But if he gets mad--" Lance groaned sinking into his chair. 

"So what?" Lotor moved closer. "At least you have a better chance at figuring it out then just hoping for the best." Lance shot him a skeptical look. 

"Look," Adam sighed. "If I know him, and I like to think that I do, he's gonna get mad. No matter, whether you do it now or later, he's gonna be angry with you," 

"Reassuring,"

"Wait, But, he'll do anything to help Shiro. I know he would and I know you would rather not get into another fight with him but if it helps you then it's something that you should risk." Lance still seemed unconvinced so before Lotor could butt in Adam sat next to him. "Despite what he's gone through, Keith is actually very forgiving. He may react on instinct but he'll forgive you afterward; I know he will."

Lance sighed without a word. He got himself up and exited the room without saying anything more on the subject. Adam looked sad but Lotor followed after him floating above him. 

"Well look who's back!" Keith smiled. "Your food is probably cold by now," 

"I'm not that hungry," Lance dropped himself on his armchair tucking his knees under his chin. 

"What's wrong Lance?" Hunk asked immediately. "Did something happen?" 

"You can tell us," Pidge pitched in pausing the movie that Lance hadn't realized was playing. He looked between all of them. They all seemed worried but despite his unvocalized concern Lance saw the way Keith glanced at him. Mind focused on his thought and dark, almost purple looking eye pierced his own dark blue ones. He shook his head and dropped his gaze smiling to try and cover up his own facial features. 

"I'm fine," He chuckled to them. "I-I'm just dealing with some things and I'm trying to figure it out. Even if I told you I don't think you would be able to help,"

"But it always helps to have the ability to talk to someone you're close to," The way Keith said that made it seem like he was excluding himself but Lance paid it no mind. 

"And sometimes I just don't want to talk; not at the moment anyway,"

Keith shook his head. "I never said you had to talk to them, just that it good to know you can if you wanted," He took a sip from his drink and looked back at the T.V. with a look of contempt. 

"Yeah," Hunk agreed quickly. "Do you need space? I know we can be at your house for a long time but if you ever just need space--"

"No!" Lance quickly shook his head. "You guys know you're always welcome here. Let's just watch the movie," 

The moment slipped. The ability to say anything else was gone. They all dropped the subject but continued to talk to themselves about other things. The movie didn't bring Lance any less anxiety about when Keith would find out Shiro was being transferred and that Lance had lied to me. He relaxed. Forcing his eyes on the screen and listening to his friend's voices. He didn't notice how his head lolled to sit on his shoulder and whe his eyes began fluttering closed. He hadn't been so tired earlier and before he knew it he was asleep. 

He didn't know how long had passed when he opened his eyes but he immediately felt the blanket wrapped around his. It was a light blue one that was softly knitted. He looked over at the couch where his friends were still sitting chatting away. Pidge and Keith looked like they were arguing about something playfully. Hunk butted in every now and then. Lance smiled under his breath and looking out the window close to him. He saw the light yellow hues that the sunset was giving out. He could have sworn it was just sunrise. He still had time to sleep before the ghosts yelled in his ear. He adjusted himself comfortably in the chair and fell asleep once more. 

This time he was woken up by the clutter of something. Opening his eyes he saw Pidge and Hunk picking up the coffee table where bags and cans had been left. "Are you guys leaving?" He whispered.

Hunk and Pidge jumped a bit but Pidge quickly regained herself. "Wow, looks like sleeping beauty finally woke up," 

He stretched out his arms above his head and heard a satisfying pop. "I am beautiful," he sighed in agreement. "It's a curse really,"

"You're so annoying," Hunk laughed. "But yeah, we're about to leave. It's practically dark already and we were just trying to clean up," 

"Fair enough," Lance picked himself up and stretched his body further. "Where's Keith?" 

"Right here," He said appearing from the stairs. "Damn you are never going to be able to go to sleep at night now,"

"I'll take you home," Lance volunteered quickly earning him a different look from all of them. 

"Ohhoho Loverboy Lance back at it again," Hunk teased.

"Now don't be getting ahead of yourself, Keith is way out of Lance's league," Pidge dug further. 

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm just as handsome as he is," He shot back not really processing his words and looking over at Keith who now had his mouth and half his reddened cheeks hidden by his hand.

"Look you broke him," Hunk laughed. 

"Now Keith," Lance said moving towards him and placing both his hands on his shoulders. "I just meant that-- you know," 

"Are you saying I'm not handsome," Keith fake gasped despite cheeks still red. "Shame on you,"

"No-no it's not that,"

"So he is handsome?!" Pidge yelled out.

"I mean yeah but--"

"Awe look at those two," Hunk joked. "Already complimenting each other," 

"That's isn't what I-- You guys are mean!" Lance huffed. It was drowned out as he looked at Keith though. 

"Stop it! You're gonna break him!" He managed between laughs

"Looks like he's not the only one ready to break," Pidge laughed. 

Lance wasn't saying anything. He just stared at him. Keith with his hand over his mouth and rosy cheeks who seemed much more vulnerable when he laughed and hair that bounced over his eyes. "You can take me," He agreed, calming his breath. 

"...great. Great!" Lance tried to recuperate himself and began speed walking up the stairs. "I'll get my coat and I'll be right back," He stumbled and picked himself up shooting Keith a quick finger gun as he ran upstairs. 

Keith chuckled under his breath. "Dork," He turned back towards the other two. Both smirking as Hunk laid his head on top of Pidges. "What? He's cute," 

After a quick moment of just cleaning, they were all ready to head out. PIdge and hunk hugged both of them and left the house together saying a quick goodbye.

Lance and Keith followed them to the car and waved goodbye as they began driving off. Once they were out of sight. Lance finally turned to look at Keith. "I'll race you to the car," He ran off quickly earning his a yank of his sweater as Keith bolted forward. 

"Unfair I don't even know what car it is," He laughed. 

"Sounds like a you problem," Lance laughed along quickly catching up to him. Keith was the first to touch a car but Lance quickly bolted forwards once more. "Nu-uh this car!" He said quickly touching another one. "Haha, I win!"

"That's unfair," Keith pouted catching his breath 

"Nope, don't be a sore loser Keith," He turned his head as he unlocked the car. 

"Says the sore winner," Keith jumped into the car as well. 

As Lance began driving off they asked each other trivial things. Things to keep the car from going silence

"This is your chance," Lotor sat in the back seat next to Adam. "You're alone, talk to him," 

"Don't be too hasty," Adam sighed. "It's your decision to make Lance,"  
He groaned. How had he almost forgotten about that? 

"You okay?" Lance shot him a confused look but ultimately nodded. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need a bit of quiet to think," They were close to Shiro's house where Keith had told him to drop him off so he didn't have much time to think. He needed to act fast but the car had stopped and Lance saw as Keith unbuckled himself and hopped out of the car. The door lingered open. "Wait--" His words were drowned out by Keith.

"I really don't want to go home yet," He chuckled awkwardly. "Do you... like, do you wanna walk around the block with me for a bit?" He offered with an unsure smile.

Lance stared at him. Had he really just asked that? Was this someone giving him a sign that he should do it? No, he didn't believe in signs. He must have taken to long to answer because Keith was already looking about to retract his statement. 

"Yes! Yeah.. let's go," he said yanking the keys a bit too roughly into his pocket and making his way out of the car. Keith smiled as Lance made his side. They walked comfortably next to each other and Lance fidgestted with his thumbs listening to Keith's humming. 

"Are you good at singing?" 

"Shiro always complimented me about it but he did that with practically everything I did," Keith laughed sadly a sense of lounging in his word s bring Lance's mind back to the topic of Shiro. "You seem nervous,"

"No, not so much nervous," Lance sighed stopping as they got into the front of a small park. Keith made his way to turn but Lance quickly grabbed him by his arm. "Actually Keith I do need your advice with something," 

"My advice?" 

"Well, not so much your advice..." Lance struggled with his words.

"Then?" Keith was looking more confused. Lance could still back out if he wanted to just call this whole thing off but he shot Adam a glance only to be returned with an encouraging smile. 

"Can I ask you something, Keith?" Lance finally sighed out in defeat. Fidgeting with his hands, Lotor seemed hesitant but he gave a quick nod.

"Of course Lance," He cocked an eyebrow suspiciously making Lance recoil. "You can ask me whatever you want. What up?" 

He rubbed at the back of his head anxiously. "I- I need your help,"

"What's wrong?" Keith said as soon as he heard how soft Lance's voice had turned. 

"I'll explain but I need to tell you something..." Lance was quick to look him in the eyes. "You have to promise not to be mad at me,"

"Lance..." Keith was hesitant to accept so he only let out an anguished sigh. 

"I don't even know how to tell you this," Lance let out a nervous chuckle. 

"Tell him, I told him to pull his hair back," Adam pitched in floating near his shoulder. "It's always in his eyes," 

Lance didn't know if he should say that but he lacked better words and Keith was looking at him with worry. "Um... Adam said to pull your hair back," He tried to smile to brush off the sudden change of mood that Keiths face portrayed. "He said it's always in your face,"

Keith looked at him. Eyes wide and frantic until he sucked in a breath. "You... You've talked to Adam?"

"I'm talking to him right now," Lance smiled but continued to talk quickly. "I've talked to him before, he's been following me around but it never seemed appropriate to tell you. Now I kinda need your help and he suggested I talked to you and--"

"Hold on Hold on," Keith interrupted swinging his hands in front of him. "You've talked to him before and you never told?!"

Lance gulped bringing an arm up to scratch the back of his neck. "Yeah... I'm sorry. He's really nice and I didn't mean to keep it from you but it kinda just always seemed like a bad time to tell you," 

"Why... Why the hell would he follow you around?" Keith sounded skeptical. Lance didn't blame him but he still sounded hurt which made him feel guilty. Keith was still on the fence with him seeing ghosts but this would either be horrible or great for their friendship. He didn't want to do anything drastic but he no longer wanted to lie to Keith, not if he was trying to get his help. 

He reached in his back pocket and dragged his finger along the cold chain of the dog tag. He pulled it out slowly, holding it all in his closed fist. He opened it in front of him letting only the chain dangle off his finger. Keith took one glance at it. He snatched it away holding it close to his face as if he wasn't seeing it right.

"You... You stole it?!"

"I- I needed it," He tried to explain. "I still do. That's why I need your help,"

"You lied to me!" Keith eyed the dog tag gripping onto the side of his head before swinging his arms down. "Why?! Why would you steal this from me,"

"It's important!" Lance was holding his hands near his chest. Adam and Lotor were both saying things but he needed to listen to Keith alone so he tried his best to drown them out. "Keith, please, don't get mad at me," 

"Shut up! I'm already mad at you!" Keith kicked a trashcan that was on the side of the street. Lance flinched watching as he let that anger out but his hands were still clutched and his eyebrows were still furrowed. "Do you realize how scared I got when I realized this was gone! Lance, you should have asked me but you didn't even tell me and now you're standing here saying Adam is talking to you!"

"He is!" Lance took a step forward hands outstretched to him. "Keith please listen to me. The dog tag, it's really important," 

"So you stole it without telling me? Was it so fucking hard to say 'Hey Keith I need this real fast can you let me borrow it?'" 

"You wouldn't have let me borrow it then," 

"So you should have respected that!" Keith slammed his foot against the ground. His voice was loud and sharp. "I've been listening to you this entire time Lance! I've been right here helping you and you've been doing nothing but lying to me! You should have fucking told me!" 

"I know," Lance shouted desperately. "I know! I should have told you or said something about it but Adam said it was fine and he--"

"Adam is dead! He's dead! Get that through your fucked up head, Lance!" Keith let the words slip before he could really process them and looking at Lance he knew he was hurt too. Lance had been called a lot of things and had been ridiculed before but coming from Keith seemed a lot more painful.

"I know he is," Lance said clutching his hands tightly. They shook as Lance dropped his head. "But I can hear him... He talks to me. He told me to--"

"He can't tell you to do anything!" Keith lifted the dog tag. "You alone stole something from me and I was actually dumb enough to believe you wanted to be my friend,"

Lance was at a loss of words. "That's not true! You're not dumb!" He took in a deep breath trying to explain frantically. "You are my friend I promise. I fucked up, I'll admit that, but I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! I need it though! Shiro, he's cursed. He--"

"Oh, so Shiro is suddenly involved in this?!" Keith dragged his hand through his hair. 

"Keith... Shiro he's--" And for a split moment, Keith's eyes turned to terror before he shook his head in anger. 

"No Shiro isn't dead! I would have been the first to know!" 

"No, he isn't dead I know," Lance sighed. "But if things continue the way they are he's gonna die," He took a step forward watching as he took a step back. "He-he's disappearing and he told me not to tell you I could see you but he needs your help and I need your help to wake him up," 

"Shut up Lance!" Keith screamed dragging his hand to yank at his hair. "I get that you see things that aren't there or hear things but this isn't fucking funny! Adam is dead and Shiro--"

"Can still wake up," Lance interrupted. "But we need your help for this. We need to head to the hospital and Allura and I will help--"

"You've been able to see Shiro and Adam this entire time and you didn't even tell me." Keith sounded hurt and for the first time, he looked sad. Wiping his eyes Keith grumbled out a response. "Vince and Kolivan were right... I should have just stopped talking to you. You're nothing but trouble." 

"Wait, what?" Lance's breath was growing heavy. "Why would you--"

"Well fine you don't want to tell me shit I couldn't care less. I didn't need you before this and I sure as hell don't need you now," 

"Keith please...." Lance wanted to comfort him and so he simply placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry... I just can't think of words right now,"

"Stop, Lance, enough..." He sounded exhausted. Placing his face in his hands. Lance had never heard him should that way but if he stopped now all of this would be a waste.

"No! Keith, he has the black lion! He can help us and we can wake him up we just need that dog tag and you," Lance flinched when Keith looked up at him with a glare. 

He yanked his shoulder back stepping back away from Lance. "Stop! This made up scenario you believe is not the real world, Lance! You need to start living in the real world and stop fucking with mine!"

Lance was on the verge of tears but he held them back. "I am-- This is real, I promise I'm not lying to you!"

"You stole Shiro's dog tag! I invited you over to his house because I trusted you and you stole something that wasn't even mine!" Keith clutched it in his hand. "Adam is gone and Shiro is sleeping and there is no way some dumbass kid like you would be able to hear them!" He said with a shove. "I'm leaving and don't you dare follow me," 

Lance was ready to admit his defeat and do this all on his own to save Shiro but the dog tag was still in Keiths hands. "Wait, Keith," He launched forward and tried to grab it only for Keith to tighten his grasp. "Please, I need it!"

"No, you don't!" He screamed back. "You're just screwing with me to get a good laugh out of it later. Well haha to Keith right?! His brother's on the verge of dying and he doesn't even know it!"

"Keith it's not that," Lance made for it again and he only held it above his head. 

"This is all you care about, isn't it?" he sounded broken, he was crying but his voice made it sound like he was on the verge of sobbing. "You don't even care that you've been lying to me the entire time..."

"Keith.. please, I need it," 

"Fuck you, Lance McClain!" He said punching him square in the cheek. "Fuck you! Don't you dare fucking talk to me tomorrow or any day after that! I don't want to hear it!" 

Lance shook his head trying to get away from the dizziness that was setting in. He hadn't fallen but his legs shook from both the pain and sadness creeping along his features. "Fuck..." He saw Keith jogging off. Falling to his knees he crumbles his hand to grip at the grass. 

"Lance?" He expected Adam to be the first to talk to him so hearing Lotor say his name made a shiver run down his spine. "Get up,"

"Great, now I've just ruined this," Lance's shoulders began to shake. 

"You haven't," Adam sounded sad. "As I said, he acts on instinct. He's hurt. Talk to him tomorrow and he'll talk to you calmly when he has time to process this,"

"I need that necklace," Lance whispered out as he walked back into his car. He dropped his head onto the steering wheel of the car and sighed. He saw a light on in Shiro's house so he was sure Keith was fine. Quickly he made his way away before Keith found them out. 

Adam couldn't leave with him any longer. Keith had the necklace and so he floated closer to him. Where he was crashed onto his bed belly down gripping onto the dog tag. 

"Adam... are you really here?" He whispered. 

"Yup," Adam sighed sitting next to him. "But it's for you to decide," 

And Keith reacted to the silence followed by digging his head deeper into his pillow. Adam placed a hand over his head sending a shiver down his spine. He was still for a moment until his shoulders slowly began shaking and small muffling came from the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well one secrets revealed. One more to go! it'll kinda be revealed next chapter but we all know Keith's a bit slow to the party. Comments are appreciated!


End file.
